This comment seeks to emphasise the importance of Barkway for Swifts and to amend the wording of policy BN NE3 to reflect this.

It is pleasing to see that Swift bricks are mentioned in the design codes for the two sites specified for development.

Barkway has been surveyed by local Swift groups in 2023 and 2024, and a minimum of 15 nests have been found so far, mainly on the High Street. We suspect that there may be quite a few more yet to be found. For a settlement of this size, this amounts to a very high density of nesting Swifts, and means that Barkway is emerging as a key area for this species in the North Herts Council area.

All of these nests are under the eaves of older buildings, but are vulnerable should the building owners seek to repair or improve their properties, in which case the nests would be lost. Swifts have declined nationally by over 50% since 1995, with loss of nest sites being a key factor in this reduction.

To help mitigate such losses, Swift bricks integrated within the walls of new buildings are an ideal solution. They are inexpensive and last the lifetime of the building, requiring no maintenance. In addition, Swift bricks conform to the British Standard for integrated nest boxes, BS42021:2022, meaning that they are effectively universal, providing nest cavities for a number of small birds, including four red-listed species of conservation concern: Swift, House Martin, House Sparrow and Starling.

To promote such a biodiversity enhancement, please consider specifying Swift bricks in policy BN NE3. A suggested addition could be as follows:

Development will be supported where:
"f) Swift bricks are proposed in all suitable buildings"

This wording would not mandate Swift bricks, given the drafting of policy BN NE3 overall, but will encourage developers to include Swift bricks at the design stage of planning applications throughout the Neighbourhood Plan area, and not just in the two specified development areas.

This proposal will also not conflict with the provisions of North Herts Local Plan policy NE4 11.24, which specifically encourages the use of integrated Swift boxes as promoting Biodiversity Net Gains