Penenden Heath Lib Dems act to keep Swifts soaring above Maidstone

Local Lib Dem Councillors Tony Harwood and Richard Conyard are at the heart of an important new project to protect one of Maidstone’s last remaining Swift colonies, with free nest boxes installed across Curzon Road, Grecian Street, Salisbury Road and Waterlow Road.

The installation follows an overwhelming response from local residents after Maidstone Borough Council partnered with High Weald Swifts to offer free swift boxes, advice and professional installation.

The scheme is focused on four hotspot streets where one of Maidstone’s few surviving Swift colonies still returns each spring.

50 nest boxes (40 single and 10 double) have been installed in Penenden Heath Ward providing 60 nesting spaces in all (MBC led rollout). The High Weald Swifts led rollout in Fant will comprise 60 nest boxes (50 single and 10 double), so 70 nest spaces in all. Therefore, the combined rollout will be 110 nest boxes, with 130 nesting spaces. This will be the single largest swift nest box installation project ever in Kent.

Tony Harwood, Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management, has played a major role in conceiving and helping drive the project forward and has supported residents to get involved.

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 tackle the ongoing and catastrophic collapse in our wildlife populations.”

The wider work has been strengthened by £11,000 from the council’s Nature Recovery Fund, awarded to High Weald Swifts to expand the initiative into Fant to help protect their local colony and raise awareness of the rapid decline in Swift numbers.

Tony and Richard’s strong support for this and other local nature recovery projects highlights the vital importance of action to protect biodiversity, restore habitats and ensure future generations can continue to enjoy the sight and sound of Swifts and other urban wildlife in Maidstone.

Residents can still play their part by recording sightings through the Swift Mapper app, and by creating more insect-friendly gardens by leaving wilder areas, creating ponds, planting native wildflowers, shrubs and trees.

This initiative also reflects the importance that Liberal Democrats place on protecting and enhancing our local environment through practical, grassroots action that residents can be directly involved in.

Protecting biodiversity is not an abstract idea. It is about safeguarding the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians invertebrates, fungi, plants and their habitats that all give Maidstone its 'garden of England' character and sense of place. Once species such as Swifts are lost from our neighbourhoods, they are unlikely ever to return, taking with them part of the precious natural heritage of our town. That is why small local actions, such as installing nest boxes, can make such a lasting difference.