Hi Folks
I work for a property management company and manage decorating projects on all type of blocks of flats. We have recently taken over an management of an older house conversion to 7 flats in Guildford, Surrey which has numerous swallows nests under the soffits onto painted render. The property is in need of external redecoration next year which may also involve replacing the soffits.
Given the legal status of the swallow, has anyone got any advice on the best time to carry out the redecorating and any hints as nest will have to be removed and the work has to go ahead while the weather is reasonable.
Thanks in anticipation.
Hi David,
Though you're outside my region I hope the following advice from an RSPB planner is useful.
As I'm sure you probably know, removing a nest while it's in use or being built would be an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 - nests could not be removed, as you hint, unless it was 'the incidental result of a lawful operation that could not reasonably have been avoided'. I don't know what a court might see as 'reasonable', but I am aware of some cases where far more ambitious building projects have been halted by nesting birds - the Millennium Dome had to stop for a mallard's nest, for example. Therefore your safe options are (a) do the work while birds aren't nesting or (b) deter them from nesting in some way before the swallows (or perhaps house martins?) return from their winter quarters.
Swallows and house martins return to nest in the spring around the end of March. Being in southern England means the arrival dates at your property will tend to be earlier rather than later. If you can do the work in March that's probably the best bet. Otherwise you may well have to postpone it until the late summer or even autumn, given that swallows and martins can still have unfledged young into September.
Alternatively, you could try to make the building 'nest-proof' on a temporary basis by the end of March, and assuming birds can't therefore begin nesting you'd be okay from the point of view of the law.
Is there any possibility of adopting a kind of 'half-way house' approach, whereby you work on a part of the building (having nest-proofed it) while keeping clear of other elevations (or parts of elevations) to enable the birds to nest, then do the rest in the following year?
Finally, I'd certainly encourage you to think about ways to build in design features to encourage these birds to return in future. House martins (and this does sound more like house martins than swallows to me) have declined somewhat and we are keen to encourage developers to make space for wildlife in their projects wherever possible. There are a few people around the RSPB who I'm sure would be happy to give more advice on what could be done, if you're interested in following this up. If I was thinking of buying, having swallows or martins nesting on the property would be a great USP for me!
Best wishes,
Colin
(Senior Conservation Planner, RSPB Midlands Region)