PIGEONS could be forced out of Huntingdon town centre as part of a £10,000 plan to rid the shopping area of the birds and their mess. Plans are being submitted by Huntingdonshire District Council – on behalf of Huntingdon Town Council – and Huntingdon Tow

PIGEONS could be forced out of Huntingdon town centre as part of a £10,000 plan to rid the shopping area of the birds and their mess.

Plans are being submitted by Huntingdonshire District Council - on behalf of Huntingdon Town Council - and Huntingdon Town Centre Partnership for a two-part scheme.

The first plan seeks permission to install measures that would prevent pigeons perching on the Commemoration Hall in the High Street. And the second would set up a designated feeding area for the birds next to the town's bus station.

Huntingdon Town Centre Partnership has submitted the planning application to provide the designated feeding area on the outskirts of town. The move comes after the partnership commissioned PICAS UK to find a solution to the Huntingdon's perceived pigeon problem.

Non-lethal bird control company, PICAS, recommended a feeding area - originally marked for a site opposite the bus station on a strip of land owned by The Huntingdon Freemen's Society. However, the charity turned down the request and another site has now been identified next to the bus station.

A planning proposal was submitted to HDC and the partnership is now awaiting a decision. It is thought the scheme could cost between £5,000 and £10,000.

A spokesman for the partnership said: "Our aim is to provide a dedicated feeding area on the edge of town and launch a public education campaign prohibiting the feeding of pigeons in the town centre. We would like to have this in place by spring 2007."

The second plan, which would see wiring put on cornices on the front of the Commemoration Hall, would cost £875 with the district council and the hall trustees sharing the cost.

The pigeon problem was identified in a report to the trustees of the hall. It said the roof of the grade II listed building was infested with pigeons and that bird mess was creating an inconvenience and health risk for the occupiers of neighbouring buildings.

Mike Kennedy, clerk to the town council and the trustees of the Commemoration Hall, said: "Pigeons are causing a mess for the neighbours of the Commemoration Hall and we need to do something about it."

The original planning application was withdrawn as it involved using spikes that were thought to be unsympathetic to the birds.