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Rat infestation in and near Crystal Palace park

Reported via desktop in the Street Cleansing category anonymously at 10:53, Mon 12 October 2020

Sent to Bromley Council less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 2336910.

At the top of Crystal Palace Park near the bus station there are a huge number of rats, running in and out of the park. This has to present a health issue due to the sheer number of them and, as they appear to have no fear of humans, or even dogs, possibly a safety issue too. Can something be done about this? Extermination must be ramped up in this case I think.

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Updates

  • Thank you for your report, this is now being investigated. Information on our services and the timeframes we aim to respond in can be found: http://www.bromley.gov.uk/ fixservices

    State changed to: In progress

    Posted by Bromley Council at 10:53, Mon 12 October 2020

  • We are continuing to investigate and working to resolve this report

    Posted by Bromley Council at 12:37, Wed 14 October 2020

  • I'd like to add my concerns. Every time I walk down the steps above the museum, I see at least one rat, sometimes two. This needs urgent action. I live adjacent to the park, on Orchard Grove, by the Anerley Gate, and am now seeing rats in my garden on a daily basis.

    Posted anonymously at 13:45, Sat 17 October 2020

  • Thank you for your report, this is now being investigated. Information on our services and the timeframes we aim to respond in can be found: http://www.bromley.gov.uk/ fixservices

    Posted by Bromley Council at 06:28, Mon 19 October 2020

  • I'd like to add that when I went up to Crystal Palace Park on Saturday for a walk I saw so many rats I left the park. They seem to have no fear of humans or dogs. This worries me.

    Posted anonymously at 09:41, Mon 19 October 2020

  • We are continuing to investigate and working to resolve this report

    Posted by Bromley Council at 11:41, Wed 21 October 2020

  • I also see rats in the park on a daily basis and they are increasingly bold. There were 3 blocking the path at the top of the park near the Vicar’s Oak section - I actually had to turn around and walk another way for fear of getting too close to them

    Posted anonymously at 13:58, Fri 6 November 2020

  • Yes, this is unacceptable. You can't walk through this bit of the park without seeing at least a dozen rats. There are very few poison bait boxes, so it's hard to believe the council is doing anything about it.

    Posted anonymously at 09:46, Mon 9 November 2020

  • Passing through this corner of Crystal Palace Park, on each of the last three days, I have seen numerous rates that seem completely unbothered by humans. Doesn’t look like anything has happened since this was first reported a month ago!

    Posted anonymously at 22:28, Thu 12 November 2020

  • To update other posters, having also witnessed the increase in rats in the park and also had rats in my garden (as reported above), which is adjacent to the park, I reported the matter at the end of October by telephone to James Hilsden, Parks & Greenspaces Borough Manager & Neighbourhood Manager, Bromley West (and also to our ward councillor, who had already separately raised the issue with the council). James agreed to ask the pest controllers to increase the number of rat traps (and the checking thereof), and up the baiting. He explained that it may take some time to take effect, given the scale of the infestation, but action would be promptly taken. Please keep reporting nonetheless, so the success or otherwise of the operation can be monitored.

    Posted anonymously at 07:26, Fri 13 November 2020

  • We have investigated this report and have made contact with the report originator to outline further details. This report is now closed on FixMyStreet.

    State changed to: No further action

    Posted by Bromley Council at 13:35, Wed 13 January 2021

  • A Vermin Baiting programme is now in place and we should begin to see some effects soon. The treatment takes a while to take affect, so please bear with us while we work to eradicate the problem.

    State changed to: Fixed

    Posted by Bromley Council at 13:36, Wed 13 January 2021

  • Many many rat sightings in the park in the last six weeks. Really concerned that this problem will increase over the summer when weather is hot. What’s happening in terms of tackling this problem?

    Posted anonymously at 14:44, Mon 3 May 2021

  • I live nearby Crystal Palace park, really shame that there is so many rats.Every time I go there I see several running, they don’t seem to be bothered by humans.Quiet scary.Don’t see them in any other London’s parks!!Does Bromley council do anything in that matter???

    Posted anonymously at 13:30, Fri 25 June 2021

  • A Vermin Baiting programme is now in place and we should begin to see some effects soon. The treatment takes a while to take affect, so please bear with us while we work to eradicate the problem.

    Posted by Bromley Council at 18:39, Tue 27 July 2021

  • Hi - my family and I went for a walk today at 3pm today. In 3 separate occasions we spotted a rat on the footpath with no real fear. One was directly under a bench near the dinosaur lake area/ bridge area. More traps are needed!

    Posted anonymously at 20:52, Sun 7 November 2021

  • Still a huge (and possibly growing) number of rats in the park. I now try to avoid it if possible, which is a dreadful shame as it’s my closest park. If action was taken in January, it has either not worked or the action taken has not gone far enough. What action is Bromley council taking right now exactly?

    Posted anonymously at 21:08, Sun 7 November 2021

  • I'd like to add my continued concerns to those expressed above. I have noticed no improvement since we first raised the issue. I was one of the early posters who added comments to this thread.

    Posted anonymously at 21:42, Sun 7 November 2021

  • Walked through the park and surprise surprise, saw the rat.Such a nice park and can not believe that council can not fix that problem! Still! I also reported on that issues while ago.

    Posted anonymously at 00:01, Mon 8 November 2021

  • Visited Crystal Palace Park yesterday (Nov 26th) and were surprised when our toddler pointed out some local wildlife raiding a bin, i.e. a large rat.

    We saw another three large rats while picnicking near the flower display by the lakes in the dinosaur area. They had no fear of us whatsoever and were evidently waiting to scavenge our leftovers.

    We were worried that our toddler might get bitten, as he kept approaching them and they didn’t run away.

    Posted anonymously at 09:45, Sat 27 November 2021

  • This problem remains unresolved and I now have rats in my garden, which abuts the park, and am having to pay for pest control out of my own pocket. When will LBB review its baiting policy, please, and take residents' concerns seriously? Please see mine and my neighbours' correspondence of October 2020 with Street Services, our councillors and our MP on this matter, and provide us with a conclusive update. A concerned LBB Street Friend

    Posted anonymously at 10:20, Sat 27 November 2021

  • A Vermin Baiting programme is now in place and we should begin to see some effects soon. The treatment takes a while to take affect, so please bear with us while we work to eradicate the problem.

    State changed to: Closed

    Posted by Bromley Council at 08:32, Fri 14 January 2022

  • Thank you for using FixMyStreet to report your concerns to Bromley.

    State changed to: No further action

    Posted by Bromley Council at 08:35, Fri 14 January 2022

This report is now closed to updates. You can make a new report in the same location.