Issue - meetings

1.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR A. CHAMBERS

“Our city needs to be a safe haven for wildlife and ecology. I would like to propose that special ‘swift bricks and bee bricks’ to be incorporated in new developments across Gloucester City Council to help halt the decline of the distinctive birds and bees.

Approved by the RSPB, the bird boxes are designed to look like bricks, but feature a small hole where swifts can enter and build their nests.

Swifts are urban birds which make their nests in rooftops or in old buildings, after flying over 6,000 miles from Africa in the spring. However, modern building methods, along with the demolition of old buildings, have reduced the swifts’ access to rooftops, resulting in a serious decline in numbers. Twenty years ago there were 150,000 pairs in Britain – now there are fewer than 90,000.

Although known as swift bricks, they can be used by a variety of other birds including sparrows, starlings, blue tits and great tits. This new initiative has the potential to halt the decline of swifts in the city, while also provide safe nesting places for many other types of small birds.

Other councils have adopted this around England and RSPB conservation officer Jack Thompson said: “This important planning condition for swifts will help provide more opportunities for nesting swifts and urban birds, supporting important sites, and build on the fantastic work being done to save our swifts.”

Bee bricks should also be installed for new build developments and should be incorporated in the external walls of new developments - one for each property.

This Council agrees to investigate the introduction of a planning condition that:

·       Will see swift boxes and bee bricks incorporated in the vast majority of new developments in the city.

·       Requires swift bricks and bee bricks to be incorporated in all new developments that are five metres high and above in Gloucester City.

·       Requires a minimum of two swift bricks per dwelling and one bee brick per dwelling.

·       Requires commercial developments to have a minimum of three boxes, or one per 50sqm of floor spaces. Ideally, swift and bee bricks should be placed under the eaves in groups of at least three.

·       Should be attached to all planning permissions granted after 1 April 2024 for the City of Gloucester.

Members are asked to approve this motion and help our City to work closely with the RSPB who have come up with a simple scheme that will increase biodiversity, and encourage wildlife to thrive in our city. So please, don’t vote politically, vote for our nature, our birds and our bees to safe guarding our wildlife for generations to come.”

2.     PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR A. CHAMBERS

“Many young lives have been lost in our city as a result of KNIFE crime. I ask all members to vote in favour for our city leader and city managing director to write to the MP of Gloucester requesting them to put forward an argument to Parliament to change the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 73