Bird centre owner's fears over electricity work

Work to replace electricity supply poles near a bird of prey centre could disrupt nesting birds during breeding season, its owner has said.

Northern Powergrid said it intended to replace two poles close to Thirsk Bird of Prey Centre in North Yorkshire next week, with the work expected to take several hours.

Colin Badgery, who owns the centre, said as well as fearing that electricity engineers could disturb the birds at a vital time of year, he was also having to pay to hire a generator so the site could remain open.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said: "We have liaised with the customer to reassure that no works will take place directly over the aviary and provided appropriate advice."

Mr Badgery explained: "The cables actually run over the top of our breeding pens, and bear in mind it's spring and it's the breeding season, so we've got breeding birds down there.

"One pair are Egyptian vultures, which are critically endangered, and there are only a few pairs within the UK as it is.

"So, our concern is that the wires would be dropped down onto the cages, as they've been done before, which can cause some distress."

The centre also needed a generator to supply power to the tills, the cafe and the computer system, he said, but while he had asked Northern Powergrid to supply one, the company said it was his responsibility to pay for one.

Mr Badgery said his concerns over the electricity work came at a time when bird flu restrictions were already affecting the business, meaning only certain birds could be used in the centre's falconry displays.

"We've had to restrict ourselves to two displays a day, because the the current legislation is that if we lose sight of a bird for one minute, then we have to put them into two weeks' quarantine, which just isn't feasible.

"We're only flying the birds we know we can keep within the boundaries of the arena or that we know are going to be tracked with the GPS so we know exactly where they are."

The sight of people working nearby in hi-vis kit could also unsettle the birds, Mr Badgery said, though he added that the centre would still be open to visitors as normal.

"We have asked the engineers if this work could be rescheduled after breeding season, however our request has been denied," he said.

In a statement, a Northern Powergrid spokesperson said: "As part of our yearly maintenance and replacement of electricity poles, we have identified a need to carry out pole replacements next to the Thirsk Bird of Prey Centre.

"To safely perform this work, a power outage is planned between 9am and 2pm on 23 May and we estimate the works will be completed the same day.

"We have liaised with the customer to reassure that no works will take place directly over the aviary and provided appropriate advice."

The firm had "a statutory right to, on occasion, disconnect supplies to carry out work on our network", they added.

"Under these circumstances, Northern Powergrid is not obliged to provide business customers with generators."

The spokesperson said the firm took its responsibilities "seriously" and worked hard "to deliver excellent service to all our customers".

"However, whether planned or unplanned, power cuts do happen, and it is not possible to always guarantee a continuous electricity supply."

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