REDDITCH Borough Council is seeking residents’ views on the removal of a duck feeding station that’s encouraging rats at a Redditch nature spot.
The wooden feeding station, on Arrow Valley Lake in Arrow Valley Country Park, has come under the spotlight again after complaints about rats from park users have continued despite efforts to manage the situation.
The chronic nature of the problem has led Redditch Borough Council to consider removing the feeding station altogether and residents with any views on the matter are now being invited to get in touch.
The borough council’s Head of Leisure and Cultural Services John Godwin said: “We’ve tried many things over the years but nothing has worked, and so we are now considering whether the basic problem is having a duck feeding station in the vicinity of other park facilities.
“There are always going to be populations of rats in a semi-wild natural environment like a country park, but we can avoid encouraging them to areas we don’t want them to be by not providing a reliable supply of food there.”
Most recently a public information campaign in the summer, “Help the rat pack up”, encouraged park users to choose seed over bread when feeding ducks so that rats would have to forage for food away from busier areas. However the problem persists.
You can comment on the proposal to remove the feeding station by going to www.redditchbc.gov.uk/consultations until Friday April 1.
Alternatively send your comments to [email protected] or to the Town Hall, Walter Stranz Square, Redditch B98 8AH for the attention of Leisure and Cultural Services, by the same date.
