Nesting birds delay £6m council depot overhaul

Birds nesting at a former warehouse and local authority depot are behind delays to their multi-million pound redevelopment, a council has said.

West Suffolk Council agreed earlier this year to demolish an old vehicle depot and storage facility on the Olding Road site, in Bury St Edmunds, and change the use to accommodate new leisure tenants.

A trampoline park and padel courts have already been confirmed for the site, with a gymnastics club also in the late stages of arranging a move.

The council has had to stop the redevelopment of the £6m project for two months due to the nesting birds, the majority of which are gulls, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It is illegal to destroy an active nest or its contents, and to prevent wild birds from accessing their nest in the UK.

Diane Hind, the council's Labour lead for resources, said construction was due to restart on 1 September, when the nesting season officially finished.

She confirmed the site was due to open in the spring, with the authority now in the final stages of agreeing contract figures.

Cliff Waterman, Labour leader of the council, said it was frustrating but the protected birds needed to be safeguarded.

He said: "That site has been waiting to be redeveloped for several years now, but the exciting thing is that when the seagulls finish nesting, we can crack on and it will be great.

"Once it's open and it's up and running, people will be very pleased with the facilities in there."

The costs of the delays are said to be commercially sensitive and have been kept private.

Hind previously said the new use would create an annual income of about £161,000 over 40 years as opposed to the £300,000 currently spent on holding costs, including security.

The building, which has been empty for several years, was last occupied by the NHS for storage and St Edmundsbury Borough Council as a vehicle depot.

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