Swift Bricks a Green Win for Councillor Tony Collins
TESSA BOASE
Hastings Borough Council has voted to incorporate ‘swift bricks’ into every new building to help the critically endangered bird species. The motion was proposed by Green councillor Tony Collins at the full council meeting on 19 July, and passed unanimously by all councillors. It will now be incorporated into the Local Plan, as one of a range of policies aiming to reverse the decline in biodiversity.
Swifts migrate every summer from Africa to Europe, nesting in roofs and bringing their distinctive screaming calls to cities and towns. Since 1995, however, the species has declined by at least 60%, linked to drastic losses in airborne insects and to home improvements, as we increasingly seal up the crevices where the birds once nested.
Swift bricks are a simple but effective solution. From the outside they look like normal bricks, with the addition of a hole. Inside is a nesting box within a cavity wall. Once installed (at a cost of £35 per brick), they are maintenance-free and last the lifetime of the building. These bricks have already been put in place in the renovated Observer building and also at Battle library.
Ian Donovan, head of Hastings and Rother Swifts, has already done much groundwork liaising with builders and developers since this conservation group was founded in April 2020. “The pandemic worked in our favour,” says Donovan. “People started noticing swifts, especially in Hastings Old Town. They were fascinated by the birds and very keen to support them.”
Tim Allison, of Allison Developments, is one local builder who has listened to Donovan. He has responded by altering scaffolding, so that the top plank is placed above the nest holes rather than blocking them. He is also mindful to leave swift nests intact when replacing a roof, and creates new access holes to match the old ones exactly. But ultimately, he says, “the onus is on the property owner” to forewarn builders and scaffolders of nesting birds.
“It takes a long time for a swift to build a nest,” Donovan points out. “Tim Allison photographed nests he discovered on a recent project on Castle Hill, Hastings. These nests have a long history. Swifts return to the same place to lay their eggs, year after year.”
The campaign for swift brick legislation has gained momentum thanks to a high profile crusade by nature writer Hannah Bourne Taylor, who walked naked through the streets of London, painted in feathers, on 5 November 2022. Her petition for mandatory swift bricks in new buildings gathered the necessary 100,000 signatures to be debated in Parliament on July 10 this year, but – predictably – MPs passed the buck back to local councils.
“Part of me wants to gnash my teeth in frustration that the Government is so supine in this matter,” said Cllr Tony Collins. “On the other hand, they have placed responsibility with local authorities and we’re taking advantage of that.”
Brighton and Hove District Council has already incorporated swift bricks into their Local Plan, along with ‘bee bricks’. Since April 2020 a minimum of two to three swift bricks per dwelling is required on all new developments, ideally under the eaves. Other councils are beginning to follow suit. The bricks help not only swifts, but other cavity nesting birds also on the ‘red list’ of highest conservation concern: house martins, common starlings and house sparrows.
“An idea’s time seems to arrive,” says Cllr Collins, “and with the increasing anxiety about the natural world, a good news story is something to be celebrated. Nature will bounce back strongly if we give it a chance.”
If you are re-roofing, redecorating your building’s façade, or extending up into the eaves, contact Hastings and Rother Swift Conservation Group for advice on how to save existing nests and encourage new colonies with swift bricks via their website evoice.org.uk/hastingsandrotherswifts. See also www.swift-conservation.org
Some Swift Facts
- Arrive in the UK from central Africa in early May, leaving late July.
- The journey can take around four weeks, the birds travelling some 300 miles a day at impressive speeds of up to 70mph.
- Spend their entire lives in the air, eating and sleeping while airborne, apart from a brief nesting season.
- Strongly territorial, returning to the same nesting site throughout their lives.
- Mate for life, meeting up each spring at the same nest site.
- Form ‘screaming parties’ during summer evenings, when groups of birds will gather in flight around their nesting area, calling out and being answered by nesting swifts.
- Some swift colonies are very old, in use for hundreds of years.
- Can live up to 21 years, with an average lifespan of five and a half years (a robin lives an average of 13 months).
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply