Anger as work disrupts wildlife breeding season at Sefton Park

May 13 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

WILDLIFE is being threatened by delayed dredging work round Sefton park lake which has coincided with the breeding season, a wildlife group claimed last night.

Nature lovers set up Sefton Park Nature Watch specifically to keep a watchful eye on the renovation work.

They are angry that contractors Birse Civil have won a licence from Natural England “to destroy nests, eggs and chicks of wading birds if they prevent work from occurring.”

Group member Dr Janice Sear, of Croxteth Gate, claims promises made during the consultation phase have been overlooked.

She said: “Given that the islands have been hacked to pieces, with trees felled and shrubs cut back in large quantities, while waterways have been denuded of reeds, the recommendations made during the consultation have not been adhered to.”

She claimed the group had been given assurances that breeding seasons of species would be taken into account to minimise disturbance.

While Dr Sear claims swans have been afforded special consideration due to their status as royal property, other waterfowl have been hit hard at a key time of year.

Liverpool City Council, which has commissioned the work as part of a £6m renovation, defended its progress.

A spokeswoman said: “In accordance with best practice, the main contractor invited Natural England to visit the site and on their recommendation the Secretary of State has granted a temporary licence to relocate nests as a precaution should this prove necessary.”

A council spokeswoman said only one tree supporting a nesting bird had been felled, and the nest had been moved.

She said: “We’ve had a massive consultation on this work to make sure it’s not going to be detrimental to the wildlife in the park.

“We obviously want to protect the wildlife living in the lake and Natural England has checked what we’re doing. Everything has been approved and whatever they have said to us has been put in place.”

A council fact sheet adds: “During the contract period the ecologists have arranged a schedule of works, operations and changes to help accommodate the park wildlife during this period of intense activity.

“This programme of mitigation measures includes relaxing the maintenance regime in those areas of the park outside the contract boundary and providing additional nesting opportunities in neighbouring Greenbank Park.”

However, Daily Post columnist and avid bird watcher John Dempsey said: “The work does seem to have been carried out at a very unfortunate time of year and you can only hope that wildfowl, being opportunist birds, will return next year

“Elsewhere in Merseyside work to clear vegetation has been done outside the breeding season to minimise its impact.” Debris and litter which has not yet been cleared from the bottom of the dredged lake has also offended some park visitors. They say Birse is completing work round the lake before lifting it.

But the council, while recognising the problem, said disruption was inevitable.

Birse Civils was unavailable for comment, as was Natural England.

richarddown