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Gateshead bird poo tray extension bid to protect drinkers

BBC By the River Brew Co under the Tyne Bridge in Gateshead, image taken before the pandemicBBC
About 250 breeding pairs of kittiwakes nest on and around the bridge

Metal trays installed under a bridge to protect customers at a shipping container village from falling bird poo could remain for another year.

Six temporary trays on the Tyne Bridge to catch waste from nesting birds were approved by Gateshead Council in 2020.

By the River Brew Co on the Gateshead quayside is requesting a 12-month extension.

About 250 breeding pairs of kittiwakes nest on and around the bridge, above the village's restaurants and bars.

A council planning statement said "bird excrement and other waste from the nests directly above impacts on customers and useable space below".

Daniel Turner Nesting kittiwakesDaniel Turner
Kittiwakes have been nesting in the Quayside area for decades

The application submitted to the council said the trays could "catch the majority of material ejected from the nest above before it falls or is blown onto people at quay level".

If the scheme is extended, the trays would be coated with a polyester powder to match the colour of the bridge and deter birds from nesting on them, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The trays are about 5ft (1.5m) long and 10in (25.4cm) wide.

Councillors will decide on the application by April.

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