Councillor calls for action over bird mess at shopping centre
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A COUNCILLOR is in a flap about feathers and pigeon poo blighting a busy Inverness shopping centre.
Ken Gowans has been on to Highland Council’s environmental health team reporting pigeons dominating the roof of the abandoned Brantano shoe shop at the Inshes retail park – and leaving droppings all over the glass panel roof covers and the pavement below.
The independent councillor for Inverness South said it was not a pretty sight and potentially a heath hazard for shoppers using the Sir Walter Scott Drive centre.
The park’s maintenance firm said Brantano was still responsible for the upkeep of the store.
The 160,000 sq ft retail park which includes a McDonald’s and a Tesco supermarket is owned by Aberdeen Property Trust.
It is being managed by JLL’s property and asset management team. Corran Properties is the development manager which is dealing with the newly developed units on the park.
Cllr Gowans said the store had to be cleaned more regularly.
"They have got one of those glass canopies on and you couldn’t actually see daylight through it for all the pigeon droppings and feathers," he said.
"I contacted the environmental health people who said they would get in touch with the landlords. I want to make sure that people have a clean and safe environment in which to carry out their shopping and we want those people who own the place to be good corporate citizens."
A JLL spokesman said the canopy and pavement were cleaned immediately after Cllr Gowans raised the concern.
The spokesman said the team had been dealing with "the issue of bird droppings" for more than a year and had upped the frequency of canopy cleaning and pavement pressure-washing from four to six times a year.
He said pest control and nest clearing measures were now in place but the responsibility for maintenance of individual units lies with the tenant, in this instance Brantano. No one could be contacted at Brantano. The firm went into administration earlier this year.
