The world is witnessing a colossal decline in global biodiversity, with one million animal and plant species threatened with extinction.

In 2019, a State of Nature report by the UK State of Nature Partnership presented an overview of how UK wildlife is faring, looking back over 50 years of monitoring. It found the UK to be one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. 41% of all UK species surveyed have declined, and 15% are threatened with extension. 

But – as can be seen at the remarkable Knepp estate in West Sussex – nature will bounce back strongly if we give it a chance.

Here’s something simple and practical. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (the RSPB) estimates that the UK breeding population of one of our most iconic birds, the swift, has more than halved in the last 20 years due to loss of nesting sites on buildings. New sites can easily be created, however, by adding swift bricks.

There is now a British Standard for swift bricks, which if incorporated during construction cost very little to include in new residential, commercial, industrial and public buildings. If swift bricks are installed, they can benefit not only swifts but other birds such as starling, great tit, blue tit, and house sparrow, the numbers of which are also declining.

We are lucky to have great local expertise on swifts in East Sussex with swift bricks already in place in the renovated Observer building as well as Battle library but we need more swift bricks in Hastings to replace lost nesting sites.

The Environment Act 2021 strengthened the duty for local authorities to do more to protect and enhance our natural environment and with our local plan up for renewal at present this is an ideal opportunity to add this commitment requiring developers to include swift bricks in all new buildings in our town. I am delighted that my colleague Councillor Tony Collins will be proposing a motion to do just that at our council meeting on Wednesday. Sadly the government turned down the opportunity to make this a national commitment at a debate this week in parliament.

Speaking of biodiversity, what is happening with Old Roar Gill? This cherished local nature reserve is home to wagtails, kingfishers and many more species, some genuinely rare. Yet for the last two months wildlife and walkers along have been driven away by untreated sewage draining down the Gill into Buckshole Reservoir, killing fish and harming local dogs. The immediate cause appears to have been blockages in local sewers compounded by misconnections. Southern Water has been testing water samples, but the ugly sights and smells continue.

Southern Water’s operatives are hampered by outdated maps and limited resources while the senior management team seem to career from one crisis to another. We agreed this week to call Southern Water into Hastings Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible so councillors and residents can quiz them on their plans to urgently upgrade our sewage infrastructure right across this town.