Kittiwake Hotel in Hartlepool March 2025

Kittiwake hotel

This is the construction of the brand new Kittiwake Hotel. nesting up to 500 birds close to the Historic Headland n Hartlepool.

The plan was originally turned down by HBC planners after taking into account the concerns of some residents, who were concerned about potential noise, smell and other 'nuisance'.

The refusal was a setback to Denmark-based Ørsted because one of the conditions for its proposed 200-turbine  Hornsea 3 windfarm off the Yorkshire Coast is that a breeding habitat must  be provided to compensate for the number of kittiwakes (estimated up to 73 a year) at risk of death from collision with the rotating turbine blades.

There’s quite a lot of heavy construction going on at the site, and a large wall is in the process of being built

Evidence from elsewhere indicates that the introduction of a purpose-built nesting structure will, over time, alter the distribution of existing nesting sites across the town, notably  around Hartlepool Headland and the port area.

"As a result,  noise  from kittiwakes which currently nest relatively close to residential properties are likely to decrease which should be of benefit in terms of effects on living conditions." 

As part of the same mitigation project, the company has already built  three other nesting structures, all in Suffolk - two at Lowestoft and one at Sizewell.

I know this particular area of the Headland has been suffering from the affects of the Kittiwakes, especially this building in Southgate. Some of the local businesses have had to take measures to try to protect the building and customers

So is it going to be a good thing for the locals, or do you think it’s just a big company offsetting its bird deaths, and not really bothered where they build these things.
It is thought that.the structure  would, over time, attract the existing nesting birds away from the headland and therefore decrease guano levels in residential and industrial areas."

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