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One producer, one randomly generated postcode, and the search for an unheard story.

One producer, one randomly generated postcode, and an unheard story unfolding in a corner of Britain we wouldn't otherwise know about.

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The Patch: Prestatyn

Prestatyn

BBC Radio 4 - The Patch, Prestatyn

When did this North Wales coast town end up in conflict with its local gull population?

A town on the North Wales coast, turns out to be like Salford by the sea. But there's conflict between the residents underneath the roofs, and the gulls on top.

One random postcode, and a story you probably haven't heard before.

Today, Prestatyn, North Wales. Famous for its beaches and holiday parks, this is where Fred Pontin established the Pontins self-catered British holiday experience.  When producer Polly arrives in October, the gates are locked shut, so she goes in search of another starting point. She discovers another camp called The Salford Children's Holiday Camp. Founded in the 1920s, Salford's mayor at the time bought a plot of land here, just so the city's most deprived children could get away to experience the seaside. Nearly a century on, here it still stands. Primary schools from across the city bring children here every year. "If you grew up in Salford, there's a very good chance you've visited the site."

The children have all left for the season, so Jo and Doug, the site managers, introduce Polly to the other residents - a few hundred rabbits and two families of gulls who live on the dormitory roofs. But there's drama outside the camp, and the gulls have become very controversial. The council can issue fines for feeding them, and there have been a spate of gull against human and human against gull attacks. 

Polly searches for the roots of Prestatyn's human/herring gull conflict. The journey takes her on a tour through one hundred years of childhood memories at the holiday camp, and leads her right back to where she began... at the gates of Pontins, where something earth-shattering unfolds. Pontins announces its permanent closure. And  the gulls have an important, untold role in that drama, too. 

Thanks to Peter Rock, Matthew Chandler from the Rhyl Journal, Paul Blain, and Jo and Doug Walsh.

Produced and Presented by Polly Weston
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
Editor: Chris Ledgard

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