Local Help & Assistance

London's Swifts Local Help & Assistance

Get help for your project from local experts & groups

These people should be able to advise you how to get your Swift nest box project up and running, or help you protect a local Swift colony from building work or development. Some can do a lot more! Please contact them via the e-mail links.

Swift Groups - please click the blue Swift icon to see the list
Local Swift Experts - see below

Aldeburgh	Alan & Christine Collett	click here to e-mail
Berkshire (Maidenhead & nearby areas)	Jan Stannard	click here to e-mail
Bridgnorth (Shropshire)	Carol Wood	click here to e-mail
Brighton	Chris Lowe	click here to e-mail
Bristol & Avon	Mark Glanville	click here to e-mail
Bromley (Kent) Swift Group	Peter Smart	click here to e-mail
Buckingham	Sue Hetherington	click here to e-mail
Cambridgeshire	Dick Newell	click here to e-mail
Channel Islands	Vic Froome	click here to e-mail
Cornwall (North)	Thaïs Martins	click here to e-mail
Cornwall	Bruce Taggart	click here to e-mail
Cumbria - Sedbergh and District	Tanya & Edmund Hoare	click here to e-mail
South Cumbria & North Lancs advice on local Swift surveys only	Peter Moreton	click here to e-mail
Darlington, Yorkshire	John Tempest	click here to e-mail
Derby & Derbyshire	Nick Brown	click here to e-mail
Devon	Stephen Fitt	click here to e-mail
Dorset	Stephen Fitt	click here to e-mail
Eire - Dublin area	Helen Burke	click here to e-mail
Eire - County Mayo	Lynda Huxley	click here to e-mail
Essex	John Smart	click here to e-mail
Hampshire	Tim Norriss	click here to e-mail
Hertfordshire	Vicky Duxbury	click here to e-mail
Hertfordshire (North East)	Gavin Vicary	click here to e-mail
Kendal	Ros Taylor	click here to e-mail
Kent (East)	Nik Mitchell	click here to e-mail
Lancashire (South) & Greater Manchester	Louise Bentley	click here to e-mail
Lancashire (Fylde & Bowland)	Ian Walker	click here to e-mail
Lancashire (Wigan area)	Lynn Sedgwick	click here to e-mail
Leeds	Martin Calvert	click here to e-mail
Lincolnshire (Central)	Bill Ball	click here to e-mail
Lincolnshire (Caistor area)	Ann Cross	click here to e-mail
Lincolnshire (Vale of Belvoir)	David Makin	click here to e-mail
London - East	Shelagh Taylor	click here to e-mail
London - North	Helen Shore	click here to e-mail
London - North East & Central	Michael Priaulx	click here to e-mail
London - North West	Edward Mayer	click here to e-mail
London - South & Southwark	Steven Robinson	click here to e-mail
London - South West	Louise Cole	click here to e-mail
Milton Keynes	Martin Kincaid	click here to e-mail
Norfolk	Rob Collins	click here to e-mail
Northern Ireland	Mark Smyth	click here to e-mail
Oxfordshire (Cherwell District)	Chris Mason	click here to e-mail
Oxfordshire (Henley on Thames)	Joanna Cary	click here to e-mail
Portsmouth	Dave Warner	click here to e-mail
Scotland - Tayside	Daniele Muir	click here to e-mail
South West England	Stephen Fitt	click here to e-mail
Sheffield, South Yorkshire	Sheffield Swift Network	click here to e-mail
Shropshire	Peta Sams	click here to e-mail
Suffolk	Eddie Bathgate	click here to e-mail
Sussex	Dave Boddington / SOS	click here to e-mail
Wales - Cardiff area	Julia Barrell	click here to e-mail
Wales - Cardiff area	Linda Newton	click here to e-mail
Wales - South & Brecon Beacons	Kirsty Johns	click here to e-mail
Wales - Glamorgan	Alan Rosney	click here to e-mail
Wiltshire - North (& Bristol, Swindon to Devizes)	Sarah Roberts	click here to e-mail
Worcestershire	Sue Wilks	click here to e-mail
Yorkshire - Ilkley area	Bill Thorne	click here to e-mail
Yorkshire - Ampleforth area	Jonathan Pomroy	click here to e-mail
Yorkshire - Scarborough area	Robert Stark	click here to e-mail
Yorkshire - Wakefield	Chris Swaine	click here to e-mail

Just a few examples of their work

Photo © Mark Smyth	Photo © Helen Robertson	Photo © Roland Giddy

Stephen Fitt has been the prime mover for the installation of many hundreds of Swift nest places in the West Country, mostly in new-build housing, apartments, hotels and schools, by working closely with the Duchy of Cornwall and Exeter City Council, Tanya and Edmund Hoare have set up an amazing Swift colony in the walls of their own home, and have overseen the installion of Swift nest places in numerous buildings in their region, Mark Smyth and Jonathan Pomroy have both set up very successful Swift colonies at their homes, Helen Robertson saved her Swifts' nests by having special entrances fitted when her builder re-tiled the roof in late 2009, Ian Walker advised on the installation of Swift nest places in the new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, and the late Roland Giddy had his Victorian eaves converted into Swift homes, and was instrumental in saving the Swift colony in the church at Lingfield.

The Moral: Everyone can do something, big or small, to help Swifts.

The Small Print - please read carefully. These people all work independently. They only provide advice on Swift conservation and nest space creation; they do not advise on any aspect of building maintenance, structural or safety matters. They should be able to tell you what can be done to preserve and provide nest places, and what sorts of commercially-available nest boxes might be suitable. You will need to assure yourself that their advice fits in with your plans for your building, your building's condition and your future requirements, and any other associated matters. You will need to arrange for purchases and fitting, and/or associated building work, as required. Swifts are wild creatures, and while all helpers are in touch with the latest information, it may well be that Swifts will not take up the offered nest places, or may leave an altered nest site notwithstanding all efforts to preserve the colony. Under no circumstances can these helpers or Swift Conservation accept any liability.

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