Setback for swiftbricks campaign as Government minister claims scheme would cause 'unnecessary complexity'

                                            

Looking for a place to call home - rooftop swift

HOPES that the Government might be persuaded to mandate swift bricks into new housebuilding schemes have received a setback.

At the end of a Commons  debate on the subject,  Communities Minister Dehenna Davison (Con, Bishop Auckland) told parliamentary colleagues: "It is not something that is being considered by Government at the moment. 

"We would not want to add unnecessary additional complexity to a planning system that already faces a great deal of it.

                                         

Dehenna Davison- 'complexity' 

"There are opportunities to feed into  the National Planning Policy Framework, and I would encourage all Members  and all interested campaigners to feed into that consultation."

A similarly downbeat note was sounded by Ms Davison's counterpart on the Opposition Front Bench, Matthew Pennycook (Lab, Greenwich & Woolwich).

Said he: "We do not rule out mandation as a step in the future. 

                                                 

Matthew Pennycook - 'local discretion'

 "My reluctance stems from the fact that our instinct, when it comes to achieving biodiversity net gain, is to allow for local discretion, and we do not think that should be overridden lightly."

The comments dismayed other MPs who had spoken strongly in favour of immediately updating building regulations to incorporate swiftbricks in the same way that there are already stipulations about, for instance, window sizes , doorsteps and ceiling heights in new houses.

Particularly vociferous in her disappointment was Caroline Lucas (Green, Brighton Pavilion)  for whom the swift is her favourite bird.

"I cannot believe what I am hearing," she fumed. "This brick costs about 25 quid - that is a tiny amount for new developments. 

                                             

Caroline Lucas - 'action needed'

"There is no worst case scenario. If one is put up but does not get used, there would be no problem, and other birds would probably use it. 

"Warm words do not get us anywhere? I am hearing too many warm words and not enough action." 

Continued Ms Lucas: "Nature is under assault from every angle - from our intensive agricultural system, which douses our fields in poison, to ancient woodlands being destroyed to make way for roads and railways, and water companies incessantly pumping sewage into our waterways. 

"If we are to have any chance of changing that terrifying picture, we must start by quite literally making a home for nature - by living once again with a species that has long been our closest neighbour."

There were lively contributions from other swift-supporting MPs, among them Samantha  Dixon (Lab, City of Chester) who revealed that she loves the sound of screaming swifts so much that she uses it as the ringtone on her phone - "though it  has been known to confuse birders!"

                                                 

Samantha Dixon - 'ringtone'

Kerry McCarthy (Lab, Bristol East) said she had "lucked out" when the RSPB asked her to be  'swift champion' in Parliament.

She continued: "I pay particular tribute to Save Wolverton’s Swifts and Martins, which has a special place in my heart because it is run by my sister, who is in the Public Gallery. 

"That shows the difference between us: I am always here talking about things, and she is actually out there doing things. 

"That group has provided 170 new homes for swifts since 2020, and this year swifts have finally taken up home in her house."

                                           

Kerry McCarthy - 'lucked out'

Continued Ms McCarthy: "Last year, because the heatwave made the bricks too hot, there was a real problem with fledglings trying to leave before they were ready to fly. 

"All around the country, local groups rescued swifts; my sister cared for 17. 

"I remember going down to Sidcup to pick up her daughter from university, and, as the three of us sat outdoors at a Sri Lankan restaurant, there was a swift on the other chair being fed crickets - it had to be fed every hour to keep it alive. 

"My sister did that while juggling three kids and working a full-time job."

Several contributors to the debate noted that, even if the special bricks were not occupied by swifts, they might be used by other red-listed species such as house sparrows, starlings and housemartins.

This prompted an intervention from Kit Malthouse (Con, North West Hampshire) who expressed regret that the  six swift boxes on his house had been "overtaken" by ring-necked parakeets.

"They are able to widen the opening because it is wooden, rather than brick. 

"Using bricks protects swifts from being evicted by more aggressive species."

                                           

Kit Malthouse - parakeets

Mr Malthouse went on to make a wider point.

"In many developments, the box is ticked by putting up some wooden boxes here and there that will deteriorate over three or four years and then be gone. 

"The point about the swift brick is that it is permanent. It cannot go. It does not weather or deteriorate. 

"After seven or eight years, my wooden boxes are already looking a bit ropey after the predations of the parakeets and will need to be replaced. A brick would not. That is why we are all so keen to see them mandated."

A valuable suggestion came from Caroline Nokes (Con, Romsey and Southampton North)who urged for installation of  swift bricks to be a planning requirement for extensions.

"In a cost of living crisis, many people might not be able to afford to move, and they might need to enlarge their homes," she argued.

"So if a new brick is going in, there is no difficulty in making it a swift one."

Earlier, the debate was opened by Matt Vickers (Con, Stockton South) who expressed regret that so few local planning  authorities - thought to be just eight - had adopted a mandatory approach to swift bricks in new developments.

"I am currently harassing my local authority about this," he declared. "I hope we will all go back to our constituencies and local authorities and drive for change.

"But  we are also  calling for Central Government to drive that change."

                                              

Matt Vickers - 'planning change needed'

Despite the lukewarm response of the Minister, hope continues to flicker that the Government might yet be persuaded to take action.

Ms Davison agreed to a further meeting with MPs following pressure from Robert Courts (Con, Whitney) who described the swift as "breathtakingly charismatic" species.

"This issue is a way for her to make a real mark on nature," he insisted. "It could be something that she could forever say she had done that had helped the future. 

                                      

Robert Courts - 'niche subject'

"This is quite a niche subject, and perhaps one that Defra does not understand in the way it ought to in terms of how it could help."

The debate has been triggered by wildlife writer and campaigner Hannah Bourne-Taylor whose petition on the subject attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

Others who took part in the debate included: 

* Duncan Baker (Con, North Norfolk) 

* Richard Burgon (Lab,  Leeds East) 

* Siobhan Baillie (Con, Stroud) 

* Helen Morgan (Lib-Dem, North Shropshire) 

* Richard Foord (Lib-Dem, Tiverton & Honiton) 

Time ran out before some, such as Matt Warman (Con, Boston & Skegness), could chip in.

Chairman of the meeting was Sir Edward Leigh  (Con, Gainsborough).

The Wryneck says: Everything was going so well until the Minister and the Shadow Minister sucked the oxygen out of the debate with their wan and depressing responses which basically spelt out the 'we-can't-really-be-bothered message'. The only hope is that a change of heart will be coaxed from Ms Davison and Mr Pennycook. Otherwise, without the political will to support it, the campaign is probably doomed.

* Photos: Parliament TV