Swift bricks for birds campaign to be debated in Parliament

A campaign to force developers to incorporate special bricks for nesting birds will be discussed in Parliament.

A petition to make so-called swift bricks compulsory in new buildings has gained more than the 100,000 signatures needed for a debate by MPs.

Oxfordshire campaigner Hannah Bourne-Taylor previously marched through London painted as a bird to protest against the decline of swifts.

She said the petition proved people cared about their "wild neighbours".

"We are connected and we will unite for the nature on our doorsteps," she said.

Ms Bourne-Taylor wants all new buildings to incorporate bricks with holes that can become nesting environments for four declining UK species: swifts, house sparrows, house martins and starlings.

In December, the government responded to the campaign, saying: "We welcome actions by developers to provide swift bricks, however government considers this a matter for local authorities, depending upon the specific circumstances of each site."

It added that swift bricks were already mentioned in government planning guidance but would not be appropriate in every development, such as some high-density schemes or places where there was insufficient connectivity to wildlife.

More than half of many bird species in the UK have disappeared from the skies in just 20 years, partly because of a lack of suitable nesting sites, according to Emma Marsh, executive director for RSPB.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].