Google battling ‘fox infestation' on roof of £1bn London office
It is intended to be an ultra-modern central London office that will serve Google for decades, but the new £1bn headquarters is beset by one of humanity's oldest-known pests: foxes.
The canines have taken over the rooftop garden of the new 'landscraper' in King's Cross and had an impact on construction – although the company stressed it was 'minimal'.
The infestation, first reported by the newsletter London Centric, was confirmed by sources familiar with the construction. One told the Guardian it had been a rolling three-year saga and said some foxes had begun to dig burrows in the perfectly manicured grounds.
'There's a little hole in the garden where one lives,' they said. 'We've seen her all around the building – one second she's on the fifth floor, the next she's on the garden floor. No one has been able to catch her.'
Others said they have seen fox poo on the grounds of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed building.
Mosh Latifi, a co-director of the London-based pest control firm EcoCare, said they could be living off rats.
'Foxes thrive quite well on rodents – we don't live more than three metres away from the nearest rat,' he said, adding that he had also witnessed foxes in building sites scouring for food left behind by workers.
Leaky pipes, or even generous handouts from local businesses, could be sustaining the skulk, according to another London pest control expert, who did not wish to be named. 'London is a big playground for foxes – they will go absolutely anywhere,' they said.
A Google spokesperson said: 'Fox sightings at construction sites are pretty common, and our King's Cross development is no exception. While foxes have been occasionally spotted at the site, their appearances have been brief and have had minimal impact on the ongoing construction.'
According to a search using the firm's own search engine, the best way to get rid of foxes is to remove food sources, install secure fencing and fill in any gaps.
It is not the first time a pricey London building has had such a problem. In 2011, a fox called Romeo was discovered living in the Shard. He survived by living off scraps left by construction workers.
Romeo was captured and, after a checkup, released back on to the streets of London.
Facebook had to contend with a family of foxes at its Menlo Park headquarters in San Francisco. They were eventually honoured on the social media site – being granted a set of stickers on its Messenger app.
Plans for the new Google building were announced in 2013, as its first completely owned and designed company site outside the US. The 11-storey building will accommodate up to 7,000 employees.
The 300-metre rooftop garden runs along the length of the building and encompasses the seventh to eleventh floors. It's believed that 40,000 tonnes of soil has been brought to support 250 trees, with a running track winding through them. The garden was designed to accommodate bees, bats, birds and butterflies. It features a space for dining, deckchairs and a fitness area. It also has an indoor pool.
The nearly 1m sq ft building has been under construction since 2018, and is estimated to be completed later this year.
In 2022, a topping-off ceremony which featured non-alcoholic Pimm's and luxury canapés was attended by Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, and Keir Starmer, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency includes the office.
'This project represents a real vote of confidence in London, in our communities and in our flourishing tech sector,' Khan said at the time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Memorial statue to lost North Sea divers unveiled in Aberdeen
A statue commemorating divers who have lost their lives in the North Sea energy industry has been unveiled in Aberdeen. A dedication service was held at the weekend to mark the installation of the memorial. It is estimated more than 100 divers have lost their lives since the inception of the oil and gas industry in the 1970s. The statue, by sculptor Alan Herriot, overlooks the harbour at Pocra Quay. It was commissioned in 2023 by the North Sea Divers Memorial charity. Depicting a man in a diving suit and helmet, it sits atop a granite plinth which reads: "Dedicated to all divers who lost their lives in the North Sea Offshore Energy Industry". Mr Herriot, one of Scotland's best-known figurative sculptors, has other work in made the statue of Scottish football legend Denis Law outside Provost Skene's House, and one portraying King Robert the Bruce outside Marischal College. The weekend's dedication service was attended by some of those who have worked in the industry, including people from across the UK and diver James McLean, a North Sea Divers Memorial trustee, said that none of the deaths over the years had been in vain, as they led to tighter safety said "We know the impact of those losses, and it's very personal for us. "It's been an emotional journey the last couple of years, and sitting looking at the diver we agreed we've almost lived with all those souls over the last two years."Mr McLean added: "It's doffing our cap, remembering friends and colleagues and others who died over the decades, not just in oil and gas but also in the renewable energy industry."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Mystery EuroMillions winner has two days to claim £1M prize
A EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker winner has only two days left to claim a £1,000,000 prize from a 27 December draw. The winning ticket, with code XDQM36414, was purchased in Wiltshire, and the deadline to claim is Wednesday. National Lottery operator Allwyn has made extensive appeals for the mystery winner to come forward over the past six months. If the prize remains unclaimed, the £1,000,000 and any accrued interest will be allocated to the National Lottery Good Causes fund. Lottery winners have 180 days to claim their winnings, and unclaimed funds support various community and national projects nationwide.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Windrush Day celebration in Sheffield honours lasting legacy
An event to recognise and celebrate the contributions of the Windrush generation has taken place in "Honouring Our Past: Building Our Future", the gathering brought together community members to commemorate the legacy of Caribbean people who were invited to the UK to help rebuild the country after World War those in attendance at the New Testament Church of God on Sunday was Linnette Hastings who came to Sheffield from Jamaica with her brother in said: "It is important to the community to reflect where you came from, what you've been through and the resilience of the people to get as far as where we are today." This year marks the 77th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain on 22 June ship carried more than 1,000 passengers from the West Indies and Windrush Day was introduced to celebrate their contributions to rebuilding the country after the 2018, it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, and many were wrongly mistreated. Ms Hastings, who trained as a nurse and worked at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital, said the move to England had been a "culture shock" and recalled experiencing racism firsthand."We are now in the 21st Century and still for all the people of the Caribbean and beyond who came here to work, we are still experiencing racism and prejudice," she said."We don't want to hear a token, we want to see results." The event on Sunday included guests such as Sheffield City Council leader Tom Hunt and Lord Mayor of Sheffield Safiya usher Delroy Robinson, whose parents came to the UK in 1962, said it was an opportunity for the community to share experiences and their stories."It's about not letting people forget. If you forget where your past was how are you going to appreciate where you are going in the future? "For us it's about letting people recognise what it was like in the Windrush generation and how we can then help build our generation going forward." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
