There’s a new type of commuter at Preston’s grade-II listed Bus Station.
War has been declared on the pigeon population of the building with a specially-trained Harris Hawk being brought in to tackle the problem.
Lancashire County Council says the pigeons got into the building while work was ongoing to replace the glass on one side of the building.
They’ve employed SMJ Falconry to see off the pigeon threat. On Tuesday (19 September) a number of hawks were brought to the building, with passengers on their way home seeing the bird swooping over them.
Read more: Subways being filled in at Preston Bus Station
Project manager for the Bus Station work Andrew Barrow said: “The hawk has been flying in the concourse to scare off the pigeons. We’ve already carried out one successful session and we’ve got other sessions planned.
“We know that it’s an unusual sight if you’re not expecting it. You might see the hawk flying around, under the watch of its falconer, but it shouldn’t cause any problems for people using the bus station.
“The pigeons are a nuisance and we need to get them out of the bus station. This is a widely-used method of dealing with this sort of issue and is used at other large buildings, airports and famously even at Wimbledon.”
The county council is spending millions of pounds restoring the listed building – and plans have recently been submitted for the Bus Station’s western apron.
In future the buses will only use one side of the building with a new Youth Zone on the western side and new public square created.