Swift-box project awarded £77k

A two-year project to help Common Swift populations recover in Leicestershire has been awarded a £77,000 grant from Natural England.

Swift Action for Swifts – run by Leicestershire County Council – helps residents across the county provide nesting sites for the species. The council said the money would be spent on buying and installing 364 swift boxes.

The Swift Action for Swifts project helps residents in Leicestershire provide nesting sites for the species (Richard Castell).

It is one of 63 projects to receive a share of £14.5 million aimed at helping rare and threatened species across England.

Leicestershire County Council said the funding from Natural England's Species Recovery Programme Grant Scheme would help them to provide more homes for swifts in locations where they have been recorded, but where their habitats are threatened by the installation of carbon efficiency measures in homes.