Pigeons home in and create mess at apartment block

The airborne pests have ruffled the feathers of John Ward by plaguing his block of flats at Church View Apartments on Fitzwilliam Walk in Greasborough for about a year.

The resident said he had complained to the association multiple times in a bid to get the problem rectified by putting spikes on the roof or discouraging the birds from nesting there.

But the pigeons have made the roof of the apartment block their home — and have left their mess all over the path to the entrance and the hand rails.

South Yorkshire Housing Association, which maintains the flats, told the Advertiser that its maintenance team was cleaning the mess every week and it was working on finding a solution to the problem.

Mr Ward (69) said the housing association had sent contractors out to clear the mess and they had scraped it up from the path but had not sterilised or bleached it.

He said the bits that had been cleaned were still covered in white marks.

Mr Ward, who has lived at the apartments since they were built 12 years ago, said the muck had been trampled through the building, from the ground floor and up the lift to the upper floors.

“It’s a health hazard,” he said.

“It’s not nice — we have got people walking past the front and looking up and thinking: ‘I wouldn’t like to live in there’.”

Mr Ward said many people living at the apartments were elderly and frail and needed to hold onto the hand rail for support, but could not because they were covered in mess.

Many used mobility scooters and had no choice but to travel through the mess on their way into the apartments, he said.

Mr Ward said trying to speak to South Yorkshire Housing Association about the problem had been like “banging your head against a brick wall”.

A SYHA spokesperson said one of its housing officers had been working with residents towards a solution.

They said its maintenance team visited the apartments on a weekly basis to clean up any evidence of pigeon mess as much as possible — including in the lift area.

“We have been working with Rotherham Environmental Services on finding a solution, and they have provided us with some suggested actions to resolve the problem,” said the spokesperson.

“These have resulted in some success in reducing, if not eliminating, the issue.

“We have installed extra spike-like deterrents — these were completed by an external contractor, and also included some follow up clean-up work.

“We have also installed a gel which is designed to act as a deterrent.

“We are seeking further expert advice on how we may be able to reduce or eliminate the problem completely.”