A council has launched a crackdown on people feeding the ducks at a popular town pond after a boom in numbers.
New signs look set to be installed at the Gainsborough Drive pond in north Lowestoft, with information leaflets delivered to homes nearby after concerns were raised in the past couple of months over the feeding of ducks and changes in water quality.
The Gunton Residents’ Association has been liaising with Lowestoft Town Council over "excessive" duck feeding at the pond, which is contributing to maintaining an "artificially high" number of ducks there.
According to the Gainsborough Drive Pond Group - which was formed at the end of 2018 and established as a sub-group of the Gunton Residents’ Association - the feeding of ducks combined with leftover food is "adding to the detritus in the pond".
Safety concerns have also been raised, as with an increased number of ducks in the area being a potential hazard to drivers travelling on a busy road.
The residents’ association has asked the council to consider information leaflets that could be delivered to homes nearby, and to replace a faded sign at the pond with new signage.
A town council spokesman said: "The town council has been informed by residents of issues with feeding of the ducks and wildlife in the Gainsborough Drive pond area.
"Due to excessive feeding of the ducks with products that are considered not suitable for their diets, such as bread, the water quality of the pond has radically changed.
"The town council is currently developing signage to reflect the issues in this area, including not feeding ducks bread and requesting feeding is limited to birdseed, peas, oats, and other products which are recommended by specialists.
"The wording for the leaflets and signage is currently under review."
The Gainsborough Drive Pond Group - who regularly carry out maintenance of the pond area - met on Wednesday evening to firm up plans for the appropriate wording on the signs and leaflets.
Kevin Pull, chairman of the Gunton Residents Association/Pond Group, said: "There is a faded sign at the pond asking visitors not to feed the ducks.
"We hope that two new replacement signs will be installed at either end of the pond, with around 100 leaflets to be delivered around the direct area to homes on the estate."
Group member, David Siebert, said the new signage and leaflets would provide "friendly advice" to visitors.
"There are a number of ongoing problems and it is a very emotive issue," he said.
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