Swift Bricks

These specially designed hollow bricks  are designed to provide safe nesting sites for swifts and other cavity nesting birds.  

According to the RSPB, the UK’s swift population has fallen by two-thirds since 1995, with part of the problem being caused by a loss of nesting places.  By integrating swift bricks into new builds, developers can help reverse this decline and support biodiversity.  Swift bricks are now mandatory in all new builds in Scotland.  In England, Government planning policy now expects bird‑nesting features like swift bricks in all new homes, but this is still policy guidance, not a statutory building regulation.

Each swift brick is made up of 3 hollow pieces, one of which has a cutaway entrance as well as a drainage hole.  Ketley swift bricks are designed to course with regular brickwork and are available in all 5 of the Ketley brick colours.  Here in the Swift Tower at London's Walthamstow Wetlands they are in a contrasting red to demonstrate the tower's transition from industry to ecology.

Swift brick