WORK on improving the new Civic Centre was halted unexpectedly after a family was found living inside the hoardings, Reading Borough Council has announced.
While landscaping was set to get underway at the site of the upgraded council building on Bridge Street, work was stopped after an unusual gaggle of residents was found to have made a home there.
Workers discovered that a family of ducks had made a home in the hoardings of the site–two adults and a brood of eggs–after one of the ducks was seen darting around in the nearby undergrowth.
The council consulted their ecologist with a view to understanding how best to protect the ducks and their eggs.
They decided to pause work at the site, placing temporary barriers to protect the brood and signs to notify the public that there were birds nesting there.
A wildlife camera was also set up to keep an eye on the street’s newest residents, and workmen arrived one morning to find that a clutch of eight ducklings had safely hatched.
The family of ducks was helped to move safely to the nearby banks of the River Kennet, including helping the ducklings up a number of steps and safe passage across a road, where the ducklings successfully joined their parents in the water.
Work has now resumed at the Bridge Street site, which will see a new Central Library and improved registrar and customer services, replacing the previous site at Bridge Street.
The new reception is set to be open by the New Year with the library open in spring next year.
Councillor Liz Terry, Leader of the Council, said: “Thank you to Morgan Sindall for looking after our new residents so well and making sure they were safe and well.
“We are in the middle of major construction work with all the disruption that can bring, so it doesn’t feel like it would be a good area to nest. But the nest was hidden well amongst the foliage and perfect protection for the vulnerable eggs.
“Mum and Dad chose a safe area in the busy town centre and then had a little help from Morgan Sindall to get to the water.”
David Shore, Morgan Sindall Project Manager, said: “In construction we are used to being flexible around changes in circumstances, but we were not expecting to find a family of ducks nesting in the middle of our work area.
“The Morgan Sindall team on site here at Reading are committed to protecting the local wildlife and ecology that surround our site and ensured the ducks safe departure from site to the river.
“We are pleased we were able to assist the ducks on their way to the canal and can feel proud that we’re surrogate parents to eight little ducklings.”
