Hi tech gadgets stop pigeons making a mess of Birmingham's new library

Nov 21 2009 by Stacey Barnfield, Birmingham Mail

SPACE age technology will be used to stop pigeons making a mess of Birmingham’s new £193 million library.

Ultrasound devices that send out a shrill whine are planned to put the birds off nesting in a controversial metal frame to be wrapped around the outside of the building in Centenary Square.

Pigeons are likely to be frightened by the noise, which cannot be heard by humans.

The proposal is contained in a final planning application for the library, which is likely to be given the go-ahead by the city council next week.

It has emerged that the striking modern building, which includes an extension to the Rep theatre, will be slightly higher than first proposed.

Earlier this year Birmingham’s head of library services, Brian Gambles, promised the height would be reduced after complaints the 1930s Baskerville House and the Hall of Memory would be overshadowed by the library.

But architects Mecanoo has proposed ten storeys above ground level instead of nine at a height of 60 metres instead of 58 metres. Two floors will be underground.

Council planning officer Simon Hodge insisted views of buildings in Centenary Square would not be harmed. He said: “The library has been designed to respect the setting of Baskerville House. “