Just four fines issued for wood-burning complaints in a year in England
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Law around illegal wood burning in smoke-control areas is not being enforced, campaigners say. Only four fines out of 5,600 complaints have been issued for illegal burning of wood in smoke-control areas from September 2023 to August 2024 in England, data has revealed.
The new data, from freedom of information requests submitted by the campaign group Mums for Lungs, shows that the law around illegal wood burning is not being enforced in England, campaigners said. A recent survey by Global Action Plan found 22% of the UK public use an open fire and/or wood-burning stove in their home. It also found that 37% of Londoners surveyed said they use an open fire and/or a wood-burning stove in their home, despite the capital being a smoke-control area.
In smoke-control areas, which have higher levels of pollution, people can only burn wood and other unauthorised fuels in government-approved stoves and other appliances. This is because the approved appliances have filters that remove many harmful particles from the air.
Since the Environment Act became law in 2021, in England, in theory, you can be fined a penalty of up to £300 if your chimney releases smoke in a smoke-control area. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you buy unauthorised fuel to use in an appliance that has not been approved by Defra.
Jemima Hartshorn, co-founder of Mums for Lungs, said: “If you open your door on a cold night in any town, city or village you can smell the wood pollution. You wouldn’t want a truck pumping air pollution into your front room, but ironically even modern wood stoves cause six times the fine particle pollution of an HGV.
