OFFICIALS hope they have found a short-term solution to the long-standing problem of goose fouling in Rowntree Park.

City of York Council has said it is trialling a new piece of equipment to clean up goose droppings in the park.

The geese in Rowntree Park have long been considered a problem, with Dame Judi Dench intervening in 2005 when a cull of Canadian geese was given the go-ahead by the council.

At the time the Oscar winning actress had backed a campaign to save them, offering to rehouse the birds at her local swan sanctuary, before officials changed their minds.

The latest “goose management” options being considered are more humane, with the new equipment described by the council as a trailer which can be attached to a small vehicle which works by “collecting goose faeces by breaking up and sweeping the mess into a large ‘catcher.’”

The equipment is capable of cleaning an acre of land in 24 minutes, the council said.

Cllr Nigel Ayre, the council’s executive member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: “Rather than side stepping the issue we’ve started testing a number of serious options to make our parks and open spaces more pleasant environments.

“We know this issue isn’t going to go away overnight and we are looking at long-term solutions”.

Other trials and initiatives include appropriate fencing to protect flower beds and lawns, discouraging geese by ultrasound audio measures, investigating safe chemicals for geese mess dispersal, and increasing and renewing signage in public parks and open spaces to remind the public not to feed the geese.

There were believed to be as as many as 500 Canada and Greylag geese in York. In 2010, The Press reported how a wave of complaints from visitors prompted the council again to consider carrying out a cull of geese or using “non-lethal deterrents” such as distress calls or falcons to scare them away.

Other options listed by officers included encouraging people not to feed the birds and preventing new eggs hatching in the park by oiling them with paraffin.

In June The Press reported how grandfather Gerald Colbeck, 74, said he had to abandon his visit to the park. “It was disgusting and something should be done,” he said.