Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Over 1,000 homes to be included as part of pilot project to lessen gull nuisance

Elaine Chapman who has had enough (in green) and other residents from the area
Elaine Chapman who has had enough (in green) and other residents from the area

A new scheme is being launched that aims to combat the gull menace that has been plaguing Moray’s biggest town for years.

Nearly 1,500 homes in Elgin will be the beneficiaries of the £11,000 pilot project that will try to curb rising numbers of the birds which have had a detrimental effect on the lives of residents in the region.

Gulls have been a problem in the area for the past few years with holidaymakers even being forced to cut trips short due to their shrieking keeping them awake at night.

The feathered foes have also been involved in a number of dive-bombing incidents, with children at New Elgin Primary last year resorting to eat their food inside due to the birds aggressively going after their snacks.

However, Moray Council has developed a pilot scheme to curb this nuisance and now plan to carry out oiling of eggs in residential areas.

It will be funded using a combination of money from the town’s common good fund and housing department.

The pilot will cover 1,498 properties in the New Elgin, Kingsmills and Lesmurdie areas of Elgin.

Elgin Community Council chairman Alastair Kennedy believes it’s about time something was done about the seagull menaces but raised concerns about the effectiveness of these proposals.

He said: “At the moment, looking at it, it sounds like a good idea but we do have a few concerns about it.

“Since it is only being used in these specific areas, it might post the seagulls to another area of Elgin and it is not a quick fix, as it will take a few years before you will see any benefit.

“It is getting to the stage that they are becoming a nightmare and something needs done but even if this pilot scheme works, how can it be used in the rest of Elgin, which is a big area and how can we maintain it?

“So we have a few concerns but will have to find out more about it before we can fully support it.”

Egg oiling involves dipping the eggs in paraffin which prevents the unborn bird from maturing to the point of hatching while the parent will remain unaware it has been interfered with and will continue to sit on it.

Robertson Drive resident Elaine Chapman endured early mornings last year because of the seagulls incessant shrieking and said she backed the scheme if it is successful in controlling their breeding and noise.