Birds are being given a new lease of life with new habitats being specifically designed for them.

Home builder, Countryside, has protected the future of the Swift population in Enfield by installing “swift bricks” at the New Avenue estate regeneration scheme in Oakwood.

Swift bricks are special hollow bricks that encourage birds to nest in them, and Countryside agreed to install these bricks following advice from the RSPB, Swift Conservation, and the site ecologists Middlemarch Environmental.

There are an estimated 27 pairs of swifts at New Avenue nesting behind the concrete cladding panels of Shepcot House, a 10-storey building that forms part of the existing New Avenue estate scheduled to be demolished in 2020.

Further swift bricks are proposed for later buildings, amongst a range of other measures such as living roofs, wildlife-friendly soft landscaping, and roosting spaces for bats.

Andy Fancy, managing director, Countryside, said: “Countryside has taken a holistic approach to the regeneration of the New Avenue estate in Oakwood, with sustainability and ecology at the heart of the development.

“An eco-garden, orchard, electric car charging points and innovative green swale are all key features and complement the new home for the swift colony; placing New Avenue at the forefront of sustainable, green development in London.

“RSPB figures show that swifts suffered a 51per cent decrease in their breeding numbers in the UK between 1995 and 2015, which is partly down to a loss of nest sites.

“We’re so proud to be supporting this endangered population; meaning that it’s not just humans who are making their new home at New Avenue.”