Swift bricks, which are designed with a hole for birds to enter and rear their young, are being touted by Waltham Forest as a way to save swifts and house sparrows, reports Marco Marcelline
Waltham Forest Council is set to encourage developers to include “swift bricks” in new homes in order to protect endangered birds that rely on holes and cavities in buildings to nest.
The provision forms part of the council’s upcoming Nature Recovery Plan and is billed as a means to protect the future of endangered swifts, house sparrows, starlings, and house martins.
Swift bricks are built discreetly into a wall of a new building, and are designed with a hole for birds to enter and rear their young.
Swifts national population has plummeted by more than 66% between 1995 and 2022, with their endangerment being partially blamed on the rise of new developments without any nesting space.
Swifts spend winter in sub-Saharan Africa and in May they migrate 7,000 miles every year to nest in the UK before leaving again during August.
They are known for their familiar “screeching” call, and are the fastest birds in level flights, boasting a top speed of almost 70 miles per hour.
Announcing the move, deputy council leader Clyde Loakes MBE, said: “We are strengthening our planning framework to ensure that swift bricks will be included in new developments, which in the long-term will create vital nesting spaces and give us a chance of creating a stronghold for swifts in Waltham Forest.
“Swift bricks come at almost zero extra cost and are backed by conservationists and developers alike. They are an easy, proven and uncontroversial way of addressing the staggering loss in populations of not just swifts but other birds of the highest conservation concern.”
The council’s vocal support of swift bricks comes despite the Labour government recently slapping down a proposed amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would have made building planning permission conditional on the provision of such bricks.
The government’s housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, told the House of Commons planning committee in May: “We are not convinced that legislating to mandate the use of specific wildlife features is the right approach, whether that is done through building regulations or a freestanding legal requirement.”
The rejection came despite Labour backing an identical amendment when it was tabled on Conservative government legislation in 2023.
According to a report released last year by University of Sheffield researchers, most housing developers are not keeping legally-binding promises to help wildlife on housing developments.
The study, which surveyed nearly 6,000 houses across 42 developments, found that many promised ecological enhancements had simply not materialised, with 75% of both bat and bird boxes missing from new developments.
Researchers also found that even where swift bricks had been provided by developers, they were not always suitably placed, reducing the likelihood that they would be used by swifts.
In April, the council joined several other local authorities in declaring a “nature emergency”. Alongside its forthcoming Nature Recovery Plan, the town hall is set to launch a full public consultation on its draft Green and Blue Spaces Supplementary Planning Document.
The document, once published, will include ways the council can “protect and enhance” green and blue spaces that already exist in the borough, as well as plans for the creation of “attractive new spaces”.
Blue spaces are natural or man-made outdoor environments that feature water and are accessible to the public.
You can find out more about the council’s nature recovery programme here
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
