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Search the Public Notice PortalWork to fix a church roof is back underway after nesting jackdaws halted construction earlier this year.
The discovery was made during refurbishment works at the Grade II listed All Saints Church in Lindfield, where chicks were found in a roof void and chimney.
Pilbeam Construction, a Sussex-based firm specialising in heritage restoration, began the repairs in February after a structural survey revealed issues with the medieval timber-framed building.
Alan Corbett, managing director at Pilbeam Construction, said: "Our team had been hard at work to restore the roof of All Saints Church but it seemed the jackdaws decided to join in too.
"Project delays can present challenges for us, but our priority was the safety of the birds. We decided to pause all work on the project to make sure that we didn’t distress or disturb the parents and their chicks."
An ecologist had been monitoring the site for bats, but instead discovered a nest containing five jackdaw eggs.
Work was halted in April after the chicks were found.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all active bird nests, meaning works could not resume until the birds had fledged and left the site.
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The chicks hatched at the start of May and had flown the nest by mid-June, allowing roof stripping to resume on June 18.
No other nests were found in the following weeks.
Sally-Ann Hurry, the ecologist consultant supporting Pilbeam, said: "It’s extremely important that the safety of these birds comes first.
"It was great to see the team taking an extra step to make sure that the jackdaws remained completely undisturbed."
Ashley Bence, facilities manager at All Saints, said: "While it meant that the repair project paused, we were pleased that Pilbeam took the welfare of wildlife in the building seriously.
"We appreciated the patience from local residents and visitors while work had to pause."
Mr Corbett said once the birds had safely vacated the nest, work resumed to restore the roof.
He said the repairs would help "safeguarding it for future generations" and create "a much-improved space" for the community.
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