BIRDS need a helping hand with finding a home in the district.
So says Coun Peter Barnes who wants to see homes for birds created at the same time new homes were built for people.
The so-called brick boxes can be fitted into buildings and look like a normal brick. But they have an entrance hole, and are hollow inside, providing a perfect nest for different bird species, many of which have been in rapid decline over the past 20 years, including swifts and house sparrows.
The Welford councillor explained: “I want to encourage the provision of better facilities for our feathered friends, many species of which are in decline. One way of doing this is to install bird bricks into buildings.
“I think that every planning application in my area should receive a request for a built-in bird home, warm and free from predators, giving them a chance to live and thrive. Even existing homes can have them fitted and we are in discussion with conservation officers about them being put on or in old barns and similar buildings.
“There is a worrying decline in wildlife around our villages so please help to bring them back to life. From now on I shall ask that all homes and large extensions, whether the application has started or in the process of planning, shall have bird homes installed.”
Coun Barnes added some new developments were already including bird bricks, and Cala Homes had agreed to do so at the Garden Village at Long Marston.
