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Do i have to constantly tell the Council the law?
I had to tell them they'd broken the law by moving me in here in 1921, with broken asbestos tiles throughout the place.
In late March, they decided to replace all the asbestos soffits and gutters in the road - this would happen in April.
'Sorry', says I, 'There are sparrows nesting in the hole in my asbestos soffit - despite my putting up a nesting box in the hope of deterring them, it looks like you'll have to wait until August/September'
'Okay' says the Council.
Yesterday, I received a message telling me they're coming out on 5 June to replace the soffit. Do they think I've forgotten?.
I sent them a message:
"Good morning
I have just received notice that the above job -:
'Inspect condition of soffit and repair as required'
Will take place on 5 June 2023.
I presume this refers to the soffit at the back of the property.
This wasn't replaced with the others, in April, due to Sparrows nesting in one of the holes in the soffit - something they've been doing at least since I moved here in 2021, and possibly for years before.
At the moment, legally, August/September will be the earliest the soffit can be replaced - providing the birds have left their nest.
However, there was a bit of a fracas yesterday. The male sparrow was on the bird box I had put up to encourage them not to nest in the soffit (a scheme that failed) and I noticed a Starling poking it's head out of the hole in the soffit.
IF the Sparrows decide the soffit is no longer safe, and don't return, and IF the Starling hasn't set up home in the soffit, I'll block the hole, and let WCC know. Then they can legally replace the soffit."
How will I know if the Sparrows have returned? I'll innocently sit in the garden, near the house, quite close to the hole in the soffit, doing a spot of potting on.
The last 2 times I've tried this, I've had to move away from the house, as the male sparrow 'dive bombs' me !!
The chances of Starlings nesting there, rather than just getting in to eat the Sparrows eggs, are slim, as the hole is so small.
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Hi Maggie
Starlings nest in our loft every year, we have no holes in the soffits or fascias so they can only gain access through the gap that is there for ventilation, which isn't even an inch wide. And they do use nestboxes.
One solution would be a security camera. You can set them to just record when there is movement, if it is pointing at the nestbox you will have a video recording. It might be worth chatting to somewhere like Currys about options, and looking at places like Argos as well. You don't need to spend loads but they will all cost a few quid, only you can decide if you want the expense.
If you decide to go for it, from personal experience I thoroughly recommend Arlo and say definitely do not go for Swann - who altered their app rendering my cameras unable to work, and whose suggestion to rectify the problem was to buy another one!
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1921! Blimey, you carry that age well ;-)
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Hi Duncan
I actually have a tracker but due to Council contractors thundering through the garden, I've only used it a couple of times, but I don't think it's up to me to assess whether the nest is being used or not . I certainly shouldn't have to spend money to ensure the Council doesn't illegally destroy a nest!
It's just unfortunate the council decided to replace the soffits during the breeding season.
It's unfortunate that the damaged asbestos in this place was both inside and out.
It's very unfortunate (for the Council) that they decided to stop paying housing benefit during stage 4 of the ,pandemic - when many were unemployed - forcing me to move, without due notice (2 weeks instead of 4) to a place that was, by law, 'uninhabitable'.
Even more unfortunate for the Council that I've worked in construction, and am aware of certain laws.
What made them think birds nesting in March wouldn't be nesting in June?
Strange how they seem more eager to remove the birds from asbestos, than they were to remove the asbestos from inside! :-(
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Duncan, sadly, has missed so much of this dreadful saga.. For the rest of us I think I could safely say we are not at all surprised.
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