Building work stops over blocked nest fears
Save Newcastle WildlifeBuilding work at a housing estate has been stopped after concerns it could block swifts from accessing their nests.
Residents in the Bridgehill area of Consett, County Durham, raised the alarm on Friday amid fears potential nesting sites could have been boarded up during ongoing roofing works.
Housing association Home Group said it had halted the work and would take scaffolding down.
Save Newcastle Wildlife, which had called for workers to down tools immediately, said the action meant the remaining swift population in the area was safe.
Surveys by the campaign group in recent days found more than 19 nests and about 50 birds were also counted.
"Sadly, we were told by residents that some houses that had nests had already been boarded up," they said.
Graham Watson, a maintenance project surveyor at Home Group, said they were aware nests could be present before the start of the works and "as a result there have been no nests affected".
A spokesperson added any existing scaffolding was at properties where there were no nests.
Durham Police, which was contacted by the Save Newcastle Wildlife, said the housing association had agreed to pause the building works until September.
It added there were plans to fit bird boxes.
SuppliedThe swifts, which are red-listed over declining global populations, arrive in the UK from Africa each year.
Residents said a colony had been nesting in the estate for at least 50 years.
A spokesperson for Save Newcastle Wildlife said it was one of the largest in the area.
"They really mean quite a lot to people," they added.
One resident said the birds reminded him of his father - with the family getting a tattoo of a swift shortly before he died.
"I love the swifts, the whole family does," he said.
"We always keep an eye out for them."
He said he was worried the birds might not return to the estate.
"Next year is going to be a good tell tale to see how many do come back."