A bill to make quick bricks compulsory in new construction in England will be discussed at the House of Lords this week in what some campaigners describe as a “golden opportunity” for the government to stop the decline in wildlife.

The new amendment in the controversial bill for leveling up is being drafted by Conservative colleague Zac Goldsmith, who has resigned from the government due to Rishi Sunak’s “apathy” towards environmental issues.

“There aren’t that many conservation solutions as easy as this one,” Goldsmith said. Goldsmith. “The cost of adding swift bricks to new builds is so tiny, relative to the cost of the build itself as to be almost immeasurable, and the impact on species that are perilously close to extinction would be vast.”

Brick by brick, British makers are building a more sustainable future for birds.

Swift brick is a non-obtrusive hollow brick that serves as the habitat of cavity-nesting species such as the threatened house sparrow, red-listed house martin house sparrow, starling, and other birds of small size and invertebrates.

The population of Britain’s swifts that migrate – which’s “screaming” over house roofs can be a powerful sound of summer – decreased by 60 percent between 1995 and 2020. Since then, the numbers have dipped further, dropping between 59,000 and 48,000.

The absence of nesting areas and nesting sites – especially when energy-efficiency measures are taken that seal up roofs from the past – is a major reason for the decline of birds, as is the fall of the flying insects they consume.

Installing swift bricks in all new homes gained broad support from all parties when it was discussed in parliament in July after more than 110,000 people had signed the government’s petition. However, the government has reaffirmed its intention to defer any obligation to install them on local governments. Only five of the 455 local planning bodies in England require that builders put in the bricks for new homes in accordance with the best practices.

In the words of Murray Davidson, the vice-chair of the Association of Local Government Ecologists the decision to leave the responsibility up to the authorities of local governments will not be “neither an effective nor efficient way to implement an urgent conservation measure”.

Many Tory MPs and prominent Conservatives have been vocal in their support for the requirement for swift bricks along with major house builders.

Josie Cadwallader Hughes, sustainability director at Thakeham Josie Cadwallader-Hughes, the sustainability director of Thakeham “Thakeham are in favour of the amendment that calls for an industry-wide commitment to provide support for this species on the red list. As a homebuilder, Thakeham recognise the opportunity we have to help support the restoration of nature through the landscape-led master planning process, as well as in the homes we build. Bird bricks that are universal in design and construction is an easy method to support swifts.”

The author and campaigner Hannah Bourne Taylor who conceived the petition, stated: “This amendment is a perfect chance that the federal government can honor its own pledges to stop the loss of biodiversity by 2030. With the unanimous support of all parties from MPs the direction of swifts’ future in Britain the birds that are dubbed our “icons of summer,” is in the hands of fellow citizens who will have the opportunity to protect not just the birds that are irreplaceable, but our relationship to environment that surrounds us.”

The Conservative peer Lord Randall of Uxbridge who supports the amendment and added: “Hannah’s campaign has been incredible, but now it’s up to us as lawmakers to pass legislation to support this. This is a simple victory for nature and it’s the perfect time to demonstrate that we are concerned about nature, particularly the birds that are ‘devil’.”

Goldsmith said: “Their natural nesting sites are almost gone and this little action could reverse the situation on a large scale. And who wouldn’t love to have swifts nesting inside their home?”

“Income growth has remained strong over recent months, which has seen the house price-to-income ratio for first-time buyers fall from a peak of 5.8 in June last year to now 5.1. This is the most affordable level since June 2020, and will be partially offsetting the impact of higher mortgage costs” Kinnaird stated.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday that UK interest rates were approaching the top and that the period of rate increases may soon come to an end. However the Bank is likely to increase rates again during the next meeting of its policy committee on the 21st of September by a quarter of percent to 5.5 5 percent.