Newport: Nesting gulls delay Royal Gwent hospital demolition work

In July, a nesting seagull caused a £460,000 overspend due to delays in demolishing Newport council’s former Newport Centre, a sports and events building, half a mile from the hospital.

The nests at the Royal Gwent, and a greater amount of asbestos in the buildings than originally anticipated, are forecast to cost the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board an additional £110,000.

The overspend has just been reported in the board’s budget for capital, or one-off spending costs.

The board, which manages the area’s NHS, said the buildings were eventually demolished last October.

“As it was discovered that seagulls were nesting on the building, we sought advice from Natural Resources Wales to coordinate the demolition outside of nesting season so as to avoid any harm to the birds,” it said.