Wednesday July 15th 2026
Co-op store on Links Road, Port Seton, East Lothian
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Co-op workers were put in danger by nesting gulls on the roof of their store who attacked them during routine maintenance at a seaside town store.
The supermarket chain applied to East Lothian Council to put netting on the flat roof of their Port Seton store amid claims staff were at risk of falling from the roof or being injured by protective birds.
However council planners rejected their proposal after local residents objected raising concerns birds could be killed by the netting with the council’s own biodiversity officer pointing out herring gulls which were among those attracted to the roof were an ‘at risk’ breed.
Representatives from the Co-op told planners they had looked at alternative ways to prevent gulls nesting on the roof of the store but had been unsuccessful.
They said: “Due to the site’s proximity to the sea, a significant number of gulls have been nesting on the building’s flat roof. During the nesting season, gulls have been known to attack maintenance personnel accessing the roof, as part of their natural instinct to protect their nests.
“This increases the risk of both injury from the birds and falls from height for all personnel working in this area. The client has explored a range of measures to deter nesting, however these have been unsuccessful to date.
“We therefore propose the installation of bird netting to a localised section of the roof, around the existing plant, to provide a physical barrier between maintenance personnel and nesting gulls and thereby significantly reduce the risks noted above.”
Despite changing their original plans to reduce the space covered by the netting and the size of the mesh, officers ruled it was still not an acceptable solution.
They said objectors had raised concerns that no plans had been included to ensure the netting was checked regularly enough to ensure no birds were caught and did not die.
Thee added: “The council’s biodiversity officer has discussed this case with the gull specialist in NatureScot and they were clear that other methods to deter gulls from the roof should be demonstrated before netting (which would need to be installed outwith the breeding season) should be considered.
“As such, the officer confirms that she does not support the application as (i) it has not been demonstrated that there are no other options to deter birds nesting on the roof other than the bird proof netting and (ii) it has not been demonstrated that the proposed bird netting would not harm any birds roosting, nesting, resting on the roof of the building.”
The council refused planning permission for the netting stating the applicant had failed to demonstrate the installation was necessary.
They said: “The proposed bird proof netting is likely to cause undue harm to bird species in the immediate area including some protected species and is in close proximity to the Firth of Forth Special Protection Area ( SPA), the Outer Firth of Forth SPA and St. Andrews Bay Complex SPA.
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