Members of the public have been left divided over what a council intends to do about a herring gull which has stopped it from opening its £350,000 new water attraction, after nesting in one of the features. Aberavon Aquasplash, a £350,000 inclusive aquatic play area next to Aberavon Beach, was expected to open on May 30 for the May Half Term - but UK law prohibits people from moving a gull's nest or disrupting the nesting gulls in any way.
Neath Port Talbot Council explained this week that opening the splash park to the public "would amount to disturbance under the act and so would be an unlawful act" and so it's understood the attraction cannot open until the gull's eggs hatch and the family move on. For our full report on this, read our previous article here.
But the council has also noted that the gull's nest is beneath a water bucket which, when full, automatically tips over. An excerpt from the council's statement says: "The nest in the Aquasplash is below a ‘tipping bucket’ feature and it has been observed that the large bucket is currently quite full with rainwater. With the design of the feature, once it gets to a certain volume, it will automatically tip and potentially wash the nest away. Given, however, that any human interference or activity around the nest could result in disturbance and subsequent abandonment of the nest, council officers are not able to intervene to prevent this from happening."- You can get the latest Neath Port Talbot news stories straight to your inbox with our free newsletter. Sign up here
