Brighton and Hove council are leading the way in putting actions for biodiversity net gain into practice by agreeing new rules that bird boxes and Bee Bricks must be included in new developments.
New regulations from the start of April 2020 mean that any building of more than 5 metres high will be expected to include Swift Bricks/ Swift Blocks, with the aim of providing much needed nesting space for these Summer visitors.
Planning guidance was already updated in 2019 to say that a Bee Brick should be incorporated into the external walls of all new developments, as part of Policy CP10 of the Brighton & Hove City Plan Part One and Supplementary Planning Document SPD11 Nature Conservation and Development.
Photo credit. Brighton and Hove news. Councillor Robert Nemeth and Karolina Roszkowska from the RSPB with swift boxes
The council has worked closely with the RSPB on the development of these new guidelines, with Councillor Robert Nemeth championing both Bee Bricks and Swift boxes.
In a statement for Brighton and Hove news, Councillor Nemeth said:
“People fill in holes. It’s really sad that the birds come back and have nothing.
A swift box is harder to block up as people can't see the box and won’t fill it up.
As long as people are putting up swift boxes and bricks then it’s a win for wildlife in the city.”
1 comment
As we have experienced problems in bees and birds nesting in buildings I’m wondering if these bricks are a solution? Usually to avoid the resulting problems of nesting in buildings, eviro and animal friendly methods are used to repel them.
Problems experienced:
Bees coming into the premises and not just staying within their nest – stinging people and pets inside or outside. . We usually have bee keepers removing the nests to rural areas….
Birds – humans applying horrible methods of poisoning the poor birds because they are making mess and noise and bird fleas within the building?
Could a solution be – more large parks within cities with trees & shelter for birds & bees. Trees along walkways, roads & within complexes and housing.