Bracknell's Point Royal Grade-II tower block in bird poo crisis

Point Royal is a 19-storey block on Rectory Road in Bracknell

Bird poo on the top of a Grade-II listed tower block is causing smells and a health and safety hazard.

Point Royal, a 19-storey block with 102 flats on Rectory Road in Bracknell, attracts pigeons to the disused terraces around its exterior.

Housing association Silva Homes said it had tried to deter the roosting birds "to no avail".

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited after residents complained about the smell.

Silva Homes said the "regular cleaning of the balconies" was resulting in increasing costs to tenants, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It claimed the droppings were "severely compromising the aesthetics" of the building and the large quantities of "well-dried" guano "causes smells and attracts insects". 

Residents do not have legitimate access to the terraces but their tilting windows open out onto the areas.

A pest control company is employed to clear the birds and their mess every three months. 

'Several diseases'

The HSE report said the greatest problems were on the higher floors and less exposed sides of the building.

It advises that "breathing dust or water droplets containing contaminated bird droppings can lead to several diseases" including Psittacosis and Salmonella. 

Silva Homes has since submitted a planning application to Bracknell Forest Council to add netting between the handrail and the ceiling of the balconies, preventing access to the "nuisance" birds. 

It said there would "not be any interference" to the tenants or the surrounding area but admitted the netting "may have an aesthetic effect" on the flats. 

The approval is required due to its listed building status, but the HSE has suggested the move will ultimately go towards "preserving and protecting" the building.

The housing association hopes that netting could help alleviate the problem