A swift brick is a hollow brick that provides a home for cavity-nesting species such as swifts, house martins, starling, and sparrow. Easy to install, modest outlay and yet can create long-lasting vital nest places. Swifts nest in gaps high up on our homes and in other buildings. However, when buildings are refurbished or demolished, these important nooks and crannies are more often lost and the swifts have nowhere to nest

Swifts are in trouble. The UK has seen numbers plummeting, by 60% between 1995 and 2020. The numbers have dropped further from 59,000 breeding pairs to an estimated 48,000.

Parliamentary debate as to mandatory swift bricks to all new homes received support, but the government decided to leave any requirement for their installation to local authorities.