THE state of a pigeon-riddled empty shop has sparked an angry outburst.
PEST ANGER Barrow resident John Robinson is sick of pigeons leaving mess outside the former business premises of Warren James in Dalton Road, Barrow. Above: Pigeons leaving through a gap above the rundown shopfront
John Robinson has grown fed-up with the state of the former Warren James jewellers in Dalton Road, Barrow.
The birds can regularly be seen creeping in and out of the rotted fascia sign and their decaying droppings have become stubborn stains on the high street below.
Mr Robinson, 65, says it is blighting Dalton Road and says it is one of a number of grubby units in the town centre. Mr Robinson, of Highfield Road, said: “ I’ve got an industrial disease so can’t taste or smell, but in the sun, my wife tells me it stinks, and we’re expecting people to come into town?
“It’s not just that one shop, there’s quite a few and there’s pigeons in and out. We’ve got these naughty boys doing community service – buy a few power washers and get them cleaning the place up.
“There are about eight or 10 pigeons going in and out of that shop in Dalton Road; there are holes all over it and the sign has fallen on the floor. It’s absolutely disgusting. I’ve lived in Barrow all my life and it disheartens me to see the town centre like that. It’s been said to me that pigeons have got to be protected. Nonsense, feral pigeons are vermin.”
Town centre units are the responsibility of the property owners. Alan Barker, Barrow Borough Council’s streetcare manager, said: “We as a litter collection authority sweep the ground to the standard required, and that bit of Dalton Road gets swept 365 days a year, and then it’s on the continual sweep for the rest of the day.
“The council does not have a pavement scrubbing clause in the contract. The brushes will sweep most of it up but they won’t clean it as though there’s never been anything there. When it gets embedded, that becomes a Cumbria Highways issue.
“We had the same problem in Portland Walk recently (with the unit now occupied by the Sweet Emporium), and it’s other people’s responsibility that’s impacting on what we’re responsible for. It’s the building’s owner who needs to start taking responsibility. It does cause problems, but we can only do what we can with the money available.”
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