Please join us at 10am on Wednesday 3 April for a BEACH CLEAN AND VILLAGE TIDY.

Make new friends, improve the appearance of our village AND help the environment!

Meet at the BEACH CAFE at 10am - and make sure you are dressed for the weather.  Litterpickers and bags will be provided.

Community growing group “Regenerate Our Green Space” is holding two “Community Spring Cleans”.  The first is on Saturday 16 March is on the Feddon Hilll Path. The second, on Saturday 23 March 1000-12 noon is in Cathedral Square, Fortrose. Details of where to meet and what to bring can be found on their website here.

Thank you once again if you donated money at our Christmas Cathedral Carols event.  Some of the money has now been donated to Avoch Primary School to help fund Makaton training for staff.  You can read more about it in the Ross-shire Journal here.

Dear Resident

In response to local concern, for the past two years the Community Council has taken action to tackle the probem of gulls nesting on properties and causing disturbance and nuisance.  FRCC applied for the the necessary licences on behalf of householders and contracted North East Pest Management to remove nests.  The action taken has deterred gulls, but is not a quick fix and continuing measures need to be taken to deter nesting in the future.

The herring gull is categorised by the RSPB as endangered, following a drop in numbers at traditional nesting sites (counting does not include urban or built environments).  A licence is legally required before a gull nest/eggs can be removed from a property, hence the paperwork undertaken by the Community Council in previous years.  The licences are issued by Nature.Scot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage).  However this year, it has tightened up the conditions which need to be met,

The Community Council is now NOT able to take collection action on behalf of residents because Nature.Scot has informed us that licences cannot be applied for on a precautionary basis - ie to be used, or not, depending if gulls go on to nest at a site.  Licence applications should only be made once gulls have started to nest and then by the property concerned, with supporting evidence.

Our advice to residents troubled by gulls is either to contact North East Pest Management (link below) or another pest control company, or to make an applicaton themselves (see Nature.Scot link below) AS SOON AS IT IS CLEAR THAT GULLS ARE PREPARING TO NEST.  The process requires the applicant to:

• State what measures have been previously tried - such as using noise, or fixing a bird-scaring device - and why these have been unsuccessful.
• Be specific on the type of gull (almost certainly herring gulls).
• State the nature of the nuisance - noise disturbance, aggression, dive-bombing vulnerable individuals, concern for pets and children, nesting which blocks chimneys or flues, risk of droppings contaminating foodstuffs, etc - with as much detail as possible on how gull nesting affects you.

If you need guidance or advice regarding the application form, you can get in touch with the FRCC and we will endeavour to assist.  Continuing action by individuals helps everyone in the villages.  

It is also very important that we do not feed herring gulls and explain to those tht do that their actions are working against the intersts of neighbours whose lives can be severely impacted by nesting gulls.

NorthEast Pest Management - 07594 274 863 / northeastpestmanagementltd@outlook.com

Nature.Scot licensing link here