Bugs and Swifts to benefit from Swindon Carriage Works renovations
There's plans to add nesting boxes for swifts and a bug hotel
Bugs and swifts, an endangered species of bird which comes to Britain to breed in summer, will benefit from the renovation of one of Swindon’s most important heritage buildings.
Swindon Borough Council is in the process of re-roofing the West Shed of the old Great Western Railway Carriage Works, a listed building running along Sheppard Street and London Street west of the Railway Station.
The project is part of the council’s so-far very successful redevelopment of the Grade II-listed building as premises for educational and business purposes.
In the already-renovated parts to the eastern end of the building, the Work Shed shared spaces for start-up and small businesses, and the new spaces for Create Studios and spaces for institutes of the University of Bath and the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester have been successful.
As part of the planning permission to reroof the West Shed, the council was instructed by its own planning department to install boxes for swifts and bug hotels, and get approval before going ahead with the work.
Now the council has submitted a plan which shows five special nesting boxes for swifts will be installed under the eaves along the face of the building overlooking the railway line and the side of the building facing the carpark between the West and East Sheds.
A bug hotel featuring layers of different materials, including short logs with holes drilled into them to provide shelter for insects will also be attached to the side wall.