Trays set to shield Quayside drinkers from bird poo

The container complex has proved popular since opening in 2017

Metal trays could be installed under the Tyne Bridge to prevent customers at a shipping container village being struck by bird poo.

The firm behind By the River Brew Co has applied for permission to install six temporary metal trays on the bridge to catch waste from nesting birds.

The structure has about 250 breeding pairs of kittiwakes.

Gateshead Council will make a decision next month.

The complex under the bridge houses a number of bars and eating establishments in converted shipping containers.

There are two areas "where bird excrement and other waste from the nests directly above impacts on customers and useable space below," the planning application said.

Kittiwakes have been nesting in the Quayside area for decades

It proposes the trays could be installed beneath the bridge to "prevent  kittiwake droppings falling on visitors to the Hillgate Quay development".

If the scheme is given the go-ahead the trays would initially be in place for a year and 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.

Several businesses in the Quayside area have complained about birds and droppings in recent years, but deterrents such as spikes and nets have proved controversial.

In 2018 damaged netting on the Exchange Buildings on the Newcastle side of the river was replaced after a number of birds died.

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