Saving energy – and tailored to swifts!

Ramsbottom Library is now home to clean energy, dry rooms and a safe nest for migratory birds!

Work to install a new roof and solar panels has now finished, along with swift boxes for the benefit of our feathered friends.

Swift boxes are special bricks with sealed spaces for nesting birds. Bury Council was the first in Greater Manchester to adopt a policy of integrating such boxes into any new housing. This followed reports from wildlife charities who reported a decline in the number of summer visiting birds in the UK, such as swifts and house martins, due to a loss of nesting sites.

Councillor Charlotte Morris, cabinet member for culture and the economy, said: “This is a great result for all library visitors – library users will have a leak-free building to use, and the swifts will have a safe place to nest. And the new solar panels will generate 4800kwh per year of renewable energy, saving the library up to £1,000 per year in electricity costs.”

Louise Bentley, of local bird rescue group Bolton and Bury Swifts, said: “We are delighted that Ramsbottom Library has installed swift boxes. These boxes are not only suitable for swifts but also house sparrows and other small birds.

“Swifts are urban nesting birds who depend on our buildings for their nest spaces when they return from to the UK each summer to breed.”

If anyone would like to hep swifts, the group can be found on Facebook or emailed at boltonandburyswifts@outlook.com

ENDS

Press release issued: 11 November 2025.