A local councillor has demanded more be done to reduce the amount of bird poo and detritus under the railway bridges by Shenfield station.
Network Rail was told it is “not pulling its weight” in tackling pigeons living under the bridges that divide Shenfield and Hutton Mount, with Rayleigh Road beneath used by large numbers of vehicles and pedestrians daily.
Concerns have been raised over the health impact their droppings are causing, with the area beneath the bridges previously described as “toxic”.
Councillor David Worsfold, who represents Shenfield, said that efforts so far to fix the issue had been “disappointing”.
At a meeting, he said: “Our officers have met Network Rail on-site to try to stress to them that we believe the action they’ve taken so far in putting some heavier gridding underneath parts of the bridges that cover the pavements is is not effective enough.”
Councillor Worsfold added that there is evidence that the gridding that’s been put in is not effective, and the pigeons are getting in along the side of it and getting trapped and, in some cases, dying.
He said: “So what they’ve done so far is very limited and is very disappointing because it doesn’t really solve the problem. Because it leaves the parts of the bridge over the roads completely exposed, and obviously, the pigeons still congregate there. So Network Rail are not pulling their weight.”
Brentwood Council says that the footways and the traffic island under the bridges are swept and jet-washed twice a week, which has resulted in “reduced detritus levels”.
The council also added that its officers had met with Network Rail on January 14 and said while no gaps to the existing birdproofing could be seen, a specialist report has been commissioned to further look into and stop the issue.
The council has said it understands from conversations it has had with Network Rail that there are no plans to extend birdproofing.
A council report said: “From the conversation with the Network Rail officer at the site meeting, it seems that the Network Rail position is that it does not consider that any nuisance is occurring in respect of the carriageway areas and that they, therefore, have no plans to extend proofing to those parts of the structure that are situated above the carriageway.”
Network Rail has been asked for comment.
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