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Peregrine falcons halt progress of Southend block's demolition

12:00pm Tuesday 24th January 2012 in News By George Thorpe

Peregrine falcons halt progress of Southend block's demolition Peregrine falcons halt progress of Southend block's demolition

PESKY peregrine falcons are the latest birds holding up progress in Southend after they were found nesting on the roof of a building due to be demolished.

Developers had been hoping to knock down the 14-storey Portcullis House, on Victoria Avenue, Southend, which has been derelict since 2008 when the Inland Revenue moved out.

Peregrine falcons then moved in. Now, if it can be proved the birds are breeding, the demolition plan could be on hold.

Alex Cooper, conservation officer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said it was important to make sure the birds were protected.

He said: “We want to make sure the birds have another nest set up for them. We do not want to see the building destroyed before that is ensured.

“Ideally, it would have been best if we had been consulted before the plans were made, but we will now be seeking to meet with the landlords and Southend Council to help solve the problem.”

The falcons have followed the flightpath of the 1,000-strong flock of wintering ruddy turnstones that were found to be nesting on Southend Pier. The birds’ nests led to the size of the planned £3million cultural centre being halved and moved to the top of the pier, so the birds were not disturbed. Peregrine falcons, Britain’s largest falcons, have protected status under schedule one of the wildlife and countryside act.

The Echo previously reported sightings of falcons at the top of the building back in June 2008, when keen twitchers spotted a pair of them perched on the roof.

The sightings now could scupper plans from Mapeley Estates, the building landlords, who had permission to demolish the building.

Birdwatcher Richard Spencer tipped off the RSPB after spotting the birds soaring in the sky.

He is worried about the disruption that would be caused if the birds’ home is destroyed during their breeding season.

Mr Spencer said: “They normally breed around February and March, so it is pushing it in terms of knocking the building down before then. There is no protection offered to the birds when it is out of season, which I think is pretty unfair for the birds.”

Comments(34)

Bester says...
12:09pm Tue 24 Jan 12

"which has been derelict since 2008 when the Inland Revenue moved out."

The Inland Revenue hasn't existed since 2006.

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Broadwaywatch says...
12:11pm Tue 24 Jan 12

I bet the mentioned birdwatcher is popular.

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badgerlemerre says...
12:14pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Surely the falcons could be rehomed in a nice three bed detached place with rent, council tax, utilities and Sky paid for.

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DannyK86 says...
12:25pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Move the falcons to Malvern, Pennine and Quantock tower blocks!

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R85 says...
12:35pm Tue 24 Jan 12

It wasn’t the Inland Revenue that moved out, it was Revenue & Customs and before this is wasn’t IR, it was Customs and Excise – not Inland Revenue at all – completely wrong! And Peregrine Falcons didn’t move in as stated, they’ve been there for many years! The buildings not in bad condition and has a massive basement – why do they want to demolish it? Anyway Peregrine Falcons have been clocked swooping at over 250 mph – fastest animal on Earth – pretty incredible!

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lr1984 says...
1:12pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.

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lr1984 says...
1:12pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.

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southend_Dave says...
1:55pm Tue 24 Jan 12

lr1984 wrote:
Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
Such a shame. After all birds are so important and should definitely get in the way of redevelopment projects.

This country is absurd when it comes to animals.

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austiali says...
2:38pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Not going to go hungry with all those pigeons in Southend either.

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Alice in Her Own Land :P says...
2:42pm Tue 24 Jan 12

S0d's law. They have left these buildings for so long it's little wonder the birds moved in and were undisturbed. Had these blocks been demolished sooner, something new would now be standing in their place. (Although going by the council's track record of spectacular C0ck-ups, I dread to think what monstrosity will take their place!)

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Eastwood Biker says...
3:17pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Could they not knock down the other two derelict office blocks further down instead then?

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ADucksQuack says...
3:27pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Alice in Her Own Land :P wrote:
S0d's law. They have left these buildings for so long it's little wonder the birds moved in and were undisturbed. Had these blocks been demolished sooner, something new would now be standing in their place. (Although going by the council's track record of spectacular C0ck-ups, I dread to think what monstrosity will take their place!)
The birds were there when the buildings were in use.

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DannyK86 says...
3:32pm Tue 24 Jan 12

lr1984 wrote:
Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
evidence?

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JTazdev says...
3:37pm Tue 24 Jan 12

When have Peregrines become pesky falcons?

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dhd says...
3:38pm Tue 24 Jan 12

lr1984 wrote:
Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
If this is correct I hope that there will be an enquiry into the cause of death and that appropriate action will be taken against the developers.

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JTazdev says...
3:41pm Tue 24 Jan 12

I agree hope they find out how they died,the peregrines have been there for awhile now. I have been down to see the peregrines a few times,its a great sight to see them.

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Max Impact says...
3:42pm Tue 24 Jan 12

DannyK86 wrote:
lr1984 wrote: Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
evidence?
Seconded.

Jest been watching a number of Bald Eagles in a wildlife park befire started work later tonight here in the US.

Amazing beasts, would hate for one to plop on my head!

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davedobbin says...
4:36pm Tue 24 Jan 12

The finding of peregrine falcons is nothing new. I saw them flying around (and perched on) Portcullis House in 2005, and possibly earlier. They were breeding even then - they kept the pigeons away.

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davedobbin says...
4:36pm Tue 24 Jan 12

The finding of peregrine falcons is nothing new. I saw them flying around (and perched on) Portcullis House in 2005, and possibly earlier. They were breeding even then - they kept the pigeons away.

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davedobbin says...
4:41pm Tue 24 Jan 12

The finding of peregrine falcons is nothing new. I saw them flying around (and perched on) Portcullis House in 2005, and possibly earlier. They were breeding even then - they kept the pigeons away.

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Sarfchurch67 says...
5:02pm Tue 24 Jan 12

JTazdev wrote:
When have Peregrines become pesky falcons?
When the idiot writing the article says so?

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R85 says...
5:13pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Alice in Her Own Land :P wrote:
S0d's law. They have left these buildings for so long it's little wonder the birds moved in and were undisturbed. Had these blocks been demolished sooner, something new would now be standing in their place. (Although going by the council's track record of spectacular C0ck-ups, I dread to think what monstrosity will take their place!)
Plural? The other identical block houses 2000 odd workers. The other blocks are owned by others - some of which are being re-fitted - arent they?

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leigh-my-town says...
5:43pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Awww FFS knock them down and the birds will soon get the picture.

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jolllyboy says...
5:47pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Good because I expect they will only replace one multi-storey with another because they never learn.

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shallotman says...
5:52pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Surely they are not nesting this time of year.

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geezer, innit says...
6:14pm Tue 24 Jan 12

if it's not those ruddy turnstones it's those pesky peregrines coming over here, nesting on our empty office blocks, eating our pigeons.....

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Nebs says...
8:16pm Tue 24 Jan 12

DannyK86 wrote:
lr1984 wrote:
Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
evidence?
No.no, they're not dead. They're pining for the fjords.

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marshman says...
9:32pm Tue 24 Jan 12

Nebs wrote:
DannyK86 wrote:
lr1984 wrote: Hmm. Strange that 3 DEAD falcons have been found today by Portcullis house! Coincidence? Doubtful.
evidence?
No.no, they're not dead. They're pining for the fjords.
PININ' for the FJORDS? What kind of talk is that?

The only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been NAILED there.

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lr1984 says...
1:06pm Wed 25 Jan 12

Evidence? Aren't the birds evidence enough? I think there may be an inquiry into it. Many people saw the dead birds by Portcullis yesterday. Either way, it probably won't hold up the demolition for long.

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stropmag says...
6:43pm Wed 25 Jan 12

Bustards!

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Max Impact says...
8:31pm Wed 25 Jan 12

lr1984 wrote:
Evidence? Aren't the birds evidence enough? I think there may be an inquiry into it. Many people saw the dead birds by Portcullis yesterday. Either way, it probably won't hold up the demolition for long.
Currently on lunch break, had a look at the Echo website and not seen this mentioned on the website, was it in tonights printed version?

If not where is your evidence?

Please provide further proof of your allegation.

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Northbank says...
10:17pm Wed 25 Jan 12

Think there has been some confusion here? There were some dead birds outside Portcullis yesterday but they weren't falcons - they were pigeons or starlings and I guess they were victims of the falcons!

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southend brummie says...
7:16am Thu 26 Jan 12

Peregrines have been on the top of this block for years, as a number of other people have said. This can't have come as a surprise to anyone, so there must be something else behind this story - some vested interest digging.

The falcons don't breed at this time of year. When Portcullis goes they will simply move to one of the other blocks.

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APR says...
12:15pm Thu 26 Jan 12

It's a shame when the birds die, but they are not exactly an endangered species.

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