THE West End man who destroyed longtail nests while carrying out illegal construction work has still not repaired the damage ¿ more than two years after being ordered to do so.

Henry Talbot carried out the illegal work at Gilbert's Bay off East Shore Road in Somerset in 2004 while building a jetty and boathouse.

The demolition work flouted planning and environmental protection laws and, after a lengthy inquiry, then-Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield gave Mr. Talbot a deadline of October 18, 2005 to repair the damage he caused.

If the reparation work, including the creation of artificial longtail nests to replace those he destroyed, was not carried out by that date, enforcement action was threatened.

The location has been a popular nesting site for longtails for centuries and environmentalists claimed up to six active nests had been destroyed by Mr. Talbot.

In addition, a large proportion of the land he cleared to widen his access to the beach was classed as woodland reserve. Neighbours also complained that debris from the bulldozing work was dumped on a path, blocking their access to the beach.

In December 2006 the Mid-Ocean News revealed that no further action had been taken against Mr. Talbot and that the site had still not been repaired.

Two months later officials declared that steps had been taken to finally get the matter resolved.

In a letter to the Mid-Ocean News in February 2007, then-Environment Permanent Secretary Wayne Carey said that Ms Butterfield had met with Mr. Talbot who had "agreed to comply with the enforcement provisions and undertake certain remedial work at their property".

"The remedial work would be subject to planning approval and would entail new planting to compensate for path cut through woodland, softening the concrete retaining walls and approach apron, and the installation of artificial longtail nests on the cliff-face. The Ministry of the Environment will continue to monitor this matter so that it can be brought to a successful resolution," Mr. Carey said.

However, the Mid-Ocean News understands that no repair work has been carried out at the location since then, with area residents claiming the site is still an eye-sore.

By press time last night the Ministry of the Environment had not responded to questions on the matter submitted by this newspaper.