Neighbours blame tip closure for nuisance of noisy gulls
THE closure of the Mont Cuet tip to the public is being blamed by residents for the colony of gulls now congregating in their hundreds in and around Vale School.
Gulls are said to be keeping people awake at night, damaging the school and causing a nuisance throughout the neighbourhood.
The issue has been getting worse over the past five years, say residents, but following the closure of the landfill at Chouet, the number of gulls has increased rapidly.
‘It’s particularly bad between 4am and 6.30am,’ said resident Tracey Henry.
‘It is almost constant throughout the day but at that time of the morning it is so difficult to sleep.
‘It’s been going on for about five years, but it has recently just got worse and worse – 30 to 40 at a time squawking away.
‘We have been contacting Education for some time now and for a while they really didn’t acknowledge the problem.
‘We’ve taken videos and put them on Youtube – you would not believe the sound – people at work told me to turn it off it was so loud.’
John Henry said: ‘They were a struggle to speak to at first but once we started talking they were quite helpful.
‘There have been four nests removed now and I believe they are waiting on equipment to prevent further nesting.’
Mrs Henry added: ‘Although I would say since the nests have been removed the gulls have actually got worse.
‘The gulls are protected so the nests have to be empty before they can be removed and we are not supporting a cull of the gulls.
‘I’m a birder myself, but something needs to be done – like John suggested, a hawk kite.’
A hawk kite is a fibreglass framed polyester model of a bird of prey that, when attached to the ground via a flexible rod, will move at random on the wind and make gulls wary of landing.
Mr Henry said: ‘A hawk kite is used on Brecqhou to deter the gulls there and they work very effectively.
‘They have told us they are going to look into using one here too.’
A fellow resident who lives next to the school, Maureen de Jong, said a neighbour’s steak was stolen off their barbecue by a swooping gull.
She said that the gulls had become ‘a real pain’ over the last few months and believed it was down to the closure of the tip.
‘The congregate all on the edges of the roof of the school, literally just over my back wall.
Obviously the cars get covered in mess if you live around here, it’s a real nightmare.
‘Sometimes the noise is just so loud I am glad I don’t sleep at the back of my house.
‘Then you get a windy day like this and they disappear, but they will be back.’
John and Tracey Henry have filmed the gulls.
n To hear how loud it gets both in the day and at night visit www.guernseypress.com.
