Hawks to be deployed to tackle pigeons at new £500million London shopping centre

Published: 19:20, 11 July 2026 | Updated: 19:20, 11 July 2026 Hawks will be used to scare off pigeons when the new Elephant and Castle shopping centre opens, developers have said. According to planning documents, the scheme will use 'regular hawking' to control birds near the £500million project. The original shopping centre was demolished in 2021 with its replacement, named The Elephant and comprising 40 to 50 shops, 485 homes, a cinema and a college campus, expected to open later this year. In planning documents submitted last month, developer Get Living said it had agreed to put up more bird netting under the bridge across the New Kent Road. It added it would undertake 'bird roosting prevention works' to stop the bridge becoming overrun with pigeons. Hawks' presence can encourage pigeons to relocate and is a non-harmful method of bird control. The birds had overrun the old brutalist mound, which was run-down before its eventual demolition. Opened in 1965 and built on a site which had been heavily bombed during the Second World War, the previous shopping centre had been praised for its design and ambition and became home to a Latin American community. A hawk pictured during a patrol for pigeons outside the British Museum in 2004 The birds of prey will be used to scare off pigeons at the new £500million redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre, the previous iteration of which (pictured) was demolished in 2021 The glass-roofed shopping centre had become run-down and overrun with pigeons in its final years But to critics the concrete development, which boasted a glass-roofed concourse that could be drawn back for an open-air feel in warm weather, was branded an expensive error. Pigeons had been a sign of the decline as nests took hold of the complex. Developers hope the falconry measures listed in the latest planning documents will prevent a similar problem taking hold in the new mall. Earlier this year hawking was used to deter pigeons from Chelmsford station in Essex after train operator Greater Anglia said the birds produced 'hazardous and corrosive droppings' that could damage the building. The operator said the Harris's hawk was 'particularly effective' because of its pack-hunting nature and strong bond with its trainer, while a gyrfalcon was also used in Chelmsford because of its ability to deter pigeons - as a natural predator - just by being visible. Hawks have also appeared at Waterloo, Euston and Cambridge stations while Wimbledon also has its own bird of prey to scare pigeons away from play. Rufus, a Harris's hawk raised in Brigstock, Northamptonshire, has been responsible for keeping the courts at the All England Club clear for 18 years. The unusual job was created after Rufus's handler, Donna Davis, noticed pigeons interrupting play in the 1999 men's final between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. She contacted the south-west London club and offered her previous hawk, Hamish, for service.