KITTIWAKES could be forced off the Tyne Bridge to please regeneration bosses.

Consultants who were paid £5,000 to look at reviving the Newcastle and Gateshead Quayside say birds nesting in the area are putting off visitors – despite tourism bosses previously listing them as one of the region’s unique selling points.

Council chiefs have met to consider the report and will look at moving on the birds to tempt more tourists and businesses to the Quayside.

But the RSPB last night questioned the value of the move, describing the birds as “one of the many delights of Newcastle city life”.

Tyneside is thought to be the only urban nesting location for the birds. The kittiwakes feature in several tourists promotion schemes, including a previous tourist trail linked to The Sage Gateshead and Baltic.

The birds also achieved national fame when they were featured on Alan Titchmarsh’s eight-part BBC series, Nature of Britain.

But all that could come to end as the city development company 1NG and Newcastle Council consider removing the birds.

A Quayside regeneration study reads: “Our consultations have revealed growing concern about the environmental impact of kittiwake nesting sites including the Tyne Bridge and the Guildhall.

“The breeding kittiwake population has been in sharp decline, so the success over the past 10-15 years Newcastle Gateshead’s urban colonies is a cause for celebration.

“However, in the spring and summer of 2010, it was clear that the mess and smell caused by the birds is simply not compatible with the aspiration to create an outstanding urban waterfront.

“The fact that the birds congregate in the historic core, right at the heart of the Quayside, adds to the problem. Some creative thinking will be required to encourage the kittiwakes to move to a less sensitive site.”