Swift box installation begins

Swift nest boxes are being installed this week across Curzon Road, Grecian Street, Salisbury Road and Waterlow Road.

The installation of the boxes follows an overwhelming response from residents after Maidstone Borough Council partnered with the charity High Weald Swifts to offer free nest boxes and installation to bolster the birds population in the area.

The work forms the next step in the project announced earlier this year, which saw leaflets delivered to homes in these four identified hotspot streets to support one of Maidstone’s last remaining swift colonies.

Recently, High Weald Swifts were awarded £11,000 from Maidstone Borough Council’s Nature Recovery Fund. The charity has already put this funding to use, distributing additional leaflets in the Fant target area last week to raise awareness of declining swift populations and encourage further participation.

As a result, they have already received 60 responses from households wanting a swift box, with applications open until 1 April, so this number is likely to increase further over the coming days.

Cabinet Member for Climate Transition and Nature Recovery, Councillor Rachel Rodwell said: “Maidstone now has only two established swift colonies left. This project gives us an opportunity to secure the future of one of Britain’s most iconic birds. By working together with residents, we can help ensure swifts continue to grace our skies each summer.”

Councillor Tony Harwood, Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management, has been heavily involved in the delivery of the project, he said: “When I was growing up, swifts were a common sight and sound in the skies over Maidstone. These wonderful birds, with a lineage that can be traced back to the days of the dinosaurs, have declined by more than 60% since 1995. We all have the power to take a small action that can make a big difference and help to the ongoing and catastrophic collapse in our wildlife populations.”

Residents can help by accepting a free swift box to be professionally installed and recording swift sightings using the Swift Mapper app. They can also support swift food sources by planting native wildflowers, trees and shrubs mowing less, or creating a garden pond.

To help engage and involve the community even more, Maidstone Borough Council has also teamed up with Creative Maidstone to deliver a public workshop at the Creative Hub on Gabriel’s Hill on 17 April. Residents will be invited to help decorate a large model swift made from bent willow and paper.