Part 1: The Politics of Swifts

Swifts are amazing!

Swift Bricks – a National Debate

What other bird has attracted a 90 minute debate in parliament, engendering cross party support, with no words spoken in opposition?

The debate was entitled: “Make swift bricks compulsory in new housing to help red-listed birds”, and followed a mighty e-petition campaign of the same name¹.

Swift bricks are simply hollow blocks designed to be ideal nesting cavities for the Common Swift that can be built into the walls of houses and other buildings. They function as a way of replacing the nooks and crannies of older buildings that have been the traditional nesting sites of the Common Swift. Such nooks and crannies are fast disappearing under new planning regulations that require well insulated buildings free of such spaces.

Why so Important?

In the UK, it is incredibly rare for the Common Swift to nest in natural sites. Obviously, many hundreds of yeas ago, they did. But now they have become completely dependent on urban structures. Without these, the Common Swift in the UK would be no more.

Local Action

In spite of the parliamentary debate, the government remains divided on the issue, and building regulations and compliance remain a devolved issue. Unless the law is changed, the adoption of the use of swift bricks still depends on local planning agreement.

It was therefore heartening to find that in my local area, Hastings, Tony Collins, a Green Party Councillor, presented a motion to adopt the compulsory use of swift bricks in “new builds”. The motion was seconded by James Bacon, a Labour Party Councillor, and the motion was passed unanimously in July 2023.

Unbeknown to swifts, it seems they have become one of the few unifying issues in this age of fractious politics – well done swifts!

Read more about the Common Swift and our 2023 Diary

Part 2: Nest Boxes and the Attraction of Swifts

NOTES

Note 1. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-07-10/debates/203F1289-9D61-415A-9429-984EFBF599F5/NewHousingSwiftBricks
Note 2. https://e-voice.org.uk/hastingsandrotherswifts/

For Site Index and Full List of Birds Discuss

: https://woodcockwood.com/site-contents-and-index/