Campaign to change the law to ensure every new house has 'Swift bricks' > encouraging results - Entrepreneur Generations

Back in February, the 38 Degrees campaigning group put a petition out to encourage us all to do our bit to give swifts a home:
Futures Forum: Campaign to change the law to ensure every new house has 'Swift bricks'

Here's the latest from the campaign: 

Dear friends,

Thank you for your responses to my email dated 16 April.

Since then about another thousand of you - increasing the total to over 128,000 - have signed up for the petition that the government legislates that all UK house builders shall install Swift bricks in all new-build homes, and give incentives for retrofitting nest boxes on older properties.

Your responses have been encouraging.

Bob Dickson from New Wortley (Leeds) writes: “Thanks for your email. At its last meeting, the Board of the New Wortley Housing Association agreed that swift bricks will be fitted to all properties in our current development, and our architects have enthusiastically taken this into the designs. Best wishes, Bob Dickson, Chair, NWHA”

Thanks Bob. What can be better than that? That’s evidence of the developer doing the right thing!

Has anyone else experienced a house builder agreeing to one swift brick per property?

Rose Parkhouse of Chepstow Swifts writes: “‘Great campaign Norman! We're a small Swift group in Chepstow, RSPB trained last year. We survey for nest sites in the town and have just written to Barratt’s, who are due to build a new estate here, about increasing the number of swift bricks in the new buildings.

“Barratt Homes do install some swift bricks but nothing like one in every building! For example, the plans for the Chepstow development show 29 swift bricks in 348 homes. This particular development is on a site where old factory buildings with known swift nests have been demolished (not by Barratt’s but by previous industrial owners) so it's a key site and we're going to push hard for a lot more swift bricks there.

“We've learnt masses about swifts in the last year since our training, and found nest sites around the town that we didn't know about before. The Glamorgan Swift Group have been a brilliant help and I've arranged for one of them, Alan Rosney to do a public talk for us through Gwent Wildlife Trust on 20th of this month - hoping to spread the word further locally!”

My question is: how costly can it be for Barratt’s to supply each house with a swift bricks? And how costly in reputational terms not to?

Sarah Hellings Smith in North Berwick writes: “In our local Tesco in North Berwick, as I was walking to the outside entrance, I heard cheeping, and looked up and saw several nests in the hollows created by the large size corrugated roofing overhanging the entrance . I spoke to customer services who were aware and seemed very happy about the birds. I was worried that somebody might complain about the possibility of droppings but that does not seem to be the case.

(I suggested that Tesco might advertise ‘Tesco looking after everybody’s families’.)

“It would seem that that the profile of this particular industrial large corrugated iron roof provides enough space in the dips to give the birds somewhere to nest : so this might be worth bearing in mind when asking companies to help - especially since it would involve no extra cost.”
Dick Newell set up and runs the blog called Action for Swifts. His blog is: http://actionforswifts.blogspot.com/ 

Edward Mayer runs the Swift-Conservation website which again has lots of useful information and links on it: https://swift-conservation.org/

Tim Norriss of Hampshire Swifts comments: “Well done with the petition. I would definitely send to Michael Gove. Urban biodiversity is in freefall due to current building regs and requirements for more air-tight homes to reduce CO2 emissions. The fixing of upvc fascias and soffits on older homes is also having a large effect. We need to be aiming for an average of one swift brick per property as proposed by the RIBA. There are lots of different types available but it’s best if they use one of the ones mentioned in Dick’s leaflet Swift Bricks V5 or his new Model S attached. Other species such as House Sparrows and smaller birds like blue tits, great tits and wrens will also use the boxes.

“Sarah Roberts has shown that house buyers are not negatively affected to buying if swift bricks are included in houses as house-builders would have you believe. This is purely a matter of economics ...“
Tim believes legislation is essential and that is what this campaign is about.

Some people are unhappy with plastic swift bricks. I agree most single-use plastic is a menace, bought today and thrown away tomorrow. However, I feel more tolerant of a designed bird box installed in a building that may do its job for swifts for 50 or 100 years.

Nest bricks are available in a variety of materials; see the Action for Swifts website for example (above). Some people have asked for a terracotta brick to be shown on the 38 Degrees website; I’m working on this.

Please continue with your personal and group campaigns to support Swifts, wherever you are. All of your stories will give extra weight to the petition. Where house builders are doing little or nothing for swifts, please put fingers to keyboards and ask them why. Ask them: why do you risk reputational damage for the cost of a swift box?

My new nest boxes, fitted last week, are ready for occupation. Hopefully my call player will attract new swifts to Warsash in the next few days!

Best wishes for now

Save our Swifts | Campaigns by You.
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from Futures Forum http://bit.ly/2IXIKdE Campaign to change the law to ensure every new house has 'Swift bricks' > encouraging results - Entrepreneur Generations

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