Words by Smiley Team
In the climate-conscious city of Brighton and Hove, authorities are prioritising nature with planning regulations to ensure every new build creates space for birds and bees as well as humans.
The local laws ensure that all new constructions above five metres must offer sanctuary for bees and local bird species. They will use innovative ‘bee bricks’ with holes for bees to inhabit, and nesting boxes suitable for swifts or swallows.
"Bee bricks are just one of quite a number of measures that really should be in place to address biodiversity concerns that have arisen through years of neglect of the natural environment," said Robert Nemeth, the councillor driving the initiative.
The authorities’ aim is to start restoring biodiversity lost due to previous architectural methods that lacked an understanding of nature’s needs. Since the ‘70s, 41% of UK species have declined due partly to urbanisation and pollution. With soaring extinction rates and increasing urbanisation, it’s important that cities offer space for biodiversity to thrive.
As pollinators that make up over 90% of British bee species, solitary bees play a vital in sustaining ecosystems. By offering them shelter in the urban landscape, along with bird nests, local authorities hope to win back biodiversity.
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"Increased planting, hedgehog holes, swift boxes and bird feeders are all examples of other cheap and simple ideas that, together, could lead to easy medium-term gains," Robert said.
Faye Clifton of Green&Blue, a company producing bee bricks, explained how their creations assist solitary bees which struggle increasingly to find homes in cities due to the rigor of modern construction methods.
She said: “Solitary bees nest in crumbling mortar work and old brickwork but modern buildings are so perfect that all the cavities are blocked."
Nature enthusiasts get to discover how successful the initiative is, thanks to a 10-year study of the bricks conducted by Faye. “We want to map the impact across the country,” she said.
Elsewhere in the UK, similar policies to Brighton and Hove’s measures have been adopted in Cornwall and Dorset, aiding pollinators and biodiversity there too.
Learn more about bee bricks at greenandblue.co.uk.
