A Green Party candidate in Wales is urging the Senedd take swift action on ‘Swift Bricks’

On 1 October 2025, the Senedd will be debating Swift Bricks as a possible solution to the iconic bird’s plummeting numbers.

Swifts are incredible birds that sleep, eat, drink, and mate on the wing. Historically, these birds have nested in healthy numbers in cavities within older housing stock. However, with renovations and modernisation these cavities have disappeared over time, causing a gradual decline in population.

The solution to plummeting Swift numbers

Amy Nicholass, lead list Green Party candidate in Ceredigion Penfro for next year’s Senedd Elections, reckons the answer to the Swifts’ problems is simple.

She said:

We need to incorporate Swift Bricks into all new builds. These bricks are cheap and extremely easy to incorporate.

Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, Ellie Chowns, has introduced a bill to the Westminster parliament on Swift Bricks. It would require the compulsory addition of Swift Bricks to all new builds in England. As Ellie has pointed out:

Swift populations have declined 60% over the past 30 years. For just £30, we could put a Swift Brick in every new build to make it a home for this iconic species too.

Housing and planning are devolved issues, so fall under separate legislation in Wales. A petition before the Senedd regarding these red-listed birds gathered more than 10,000 supporting signatures.

Senedd to debate Swift Bricks thanks to the Green Party

Greens are urging all MS’s ahead of the debate to get behind these Swift Brick proposals. The party is calling on them to push for meaningful legislation which will help to save the population of this iconic and elegant species.

Amy concluded:

The answer is really simple; make it compulsory to add a few Swift Bricks to every new built home, not just social housing, not just where and when developers feel like it, but make it compulsory. Together we can start making our patch of planet Earth a bit better. It’s a small start but significant for Swifts. I want to show how many of such simple solutions can improve lives, not just for our fellow creatures but for our residents too.

Featured image via the Canary