Wood-burning stoves will be allowed in new-build homes across England despite concerns over their impact on air pollution and carbon emissions.
The Government has confirmed in a surprise letter to the Stove Industry Association (SIA) that the appliances will be permitted as a ‘secondary heating source’.
Ministers are working on a ‘Future Homes Standard’ which aims to ensure all new homes and buildings are energy efficient and use low carbon heating systems.
The plan is due out later this year, and anti-pollution campaigners had hoped it would ban wood-burners which have become a fashionable status symbol in recent years.
But the decision to allow them was today condemned as ‘ridiculous’, and follows the Climate Change Committee calling for wood-burners to be phased out in homes.
Environmentalists fear they are very dangerous to health – with a recent report from England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty finding even modern wood-burners produced 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating.
However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has now written a letter to the SIA to confirm they will be permitted in new homes.
The letter, published by the SIA, read: ‘A full technical consultation on the Future Homes Standard was launched in December 2023 and closed in March 2024.
Campaigners are worried about the impact of wood-burning stoves on air pollution (file image)
‘Under the standards proposed in the consultation, a wood burning stove would be permitted as a secondary heating source in new homes.’
The letter also said: ‘The Government acknowledges that it is possible to significantly reduce the level of smoke emitted through domestic burning if the right fuels, appliances and practices are used.’
It comes after the SIA wrote to the MHCLG in early February in a letter co-signed by other groups including the Confederation of Forest Industries and British Flue and Chimney Manufacturers Association.
That letter aimed to ‘highlight the significant benefits of modern wood burning stoves, including their role in reducing carbon emissions, alleviating energy system strain, improving air quality, and promoting sustainable energy solutions’.
Speaking about the response from the Government, SIA chair Andy Hill said: ‘We are delighted that it has been officially confirmed that under the proposed Future Homes Standard, the installation of a wood burning stove will be permitted.
‘We are also particularly heartened to see that government acknowledges the impact of domestic burning best practices. Responsible use of modern wood burning appliances is something the SIA and its members have advocated for over many years.
‘The SIA welcomes the government’s positive response and looks forward to continued engagement as policies are developed and implemented.
‘We believe that modern wood burning stoves can play a crucial role in achieving cleaner air, supporting local economies, and providing consumers with sustainable and flexible heating choices.’
But Jemima Hartshorn, the co-founder of the Mums for Lungs campaign group, told MailOnline that the MHCLG’s decision was ‘completely ridiculous’.
She added: ‘We’re hoping the Government will reconsider this absolutely ludicrous position. This is clearly a decision that is not in the interest of climate.
‘It goes against all evidence, and it can’t be brought in alignment with the Government’s focus on cleaning up the air, on making sure the next generation of children is the healthiest that has ever lived in the UK.’
Yesterday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was going ‘all out’ for a low-carbon future and accelerating the push to net zero.
But Ms Hartshorn said the Government’s decision goes against this, adding that burning wood is ‘not net zero’ and is ‘not carbon neutral’.
It comes after the Scottish Government dropped a ban on installing wood-burners in new homes or conversions last November following a backlash.
Ben Pearce, head of the Health Effects of Air Pollution programme at the Impact on Urban Health, said: ‘We are deeply concerned by the Government’s decision to allow wood-burning stoves in new homes.
‘This contradicts the Chief Medical Officer’s report, which points out that even modern ‘eco-design’ stoves emit 500 times more harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) than gas boilers.
Houses seen under construction at a development in Basingstoke, Hampshire (stock picture)
‘Wood burning contributes to 43,000 premature deaths annually in the UK, disproportionately affecting urban and lower-income communities, and posing a serious threat to children’s health. This outdated practice should have no place in our homes or our future.’
A Government spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘The Future Homes and Buildings Standard, to be published later this year, will ensure all new homes are energy efficient and use low carbon heating systems.
‘As set out in the Future Homes Standard consultation, the use of a wood fuel appliance as a primary heating system would not achieve the standards proposed, however their installation would still be permitted as a secondary heating source.’
The standards aim to ensure homes and buildings will be ‘zero carbon ready’, meaning no further work will be needed for them to have zero carbon emissions once the electricity grid has fully decarbonised.
The consultation set out that the Government expects heat pumps and other forms of low carbon heating to be used once the new standards are in place.
While the Government believes wood heating systems would be unlikely to meet the required standard for a primary heating system, it has now confirmed their installation would still be permitted as a secondary heating source.
A previous report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies found the only source of PM2.5 emissions that increased between 2003 and 2022 was domestic combustion (shown in the yellow line)
A secondary heating system is defined as one which operates separately from the main heating system and which does not provide most of the heating in the house.
Ministers have also pointed out that legislation is in place to restrict the sale of the most polluting fuels used in domestic burning, including the sale of small volumes of wet wood for domestic burning; limits on the emission of sulphur and smoke from manufactured solid fuels; and phasing out the sale of traditional ‘bituminous’ coal.
Clean-air campaigners have been lobbying for wood-burners to be banned from built-up areas, including London, by citing claims by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that they presented a bigger problem than car exhausts.
Most major cities in England fall under a Defra Smoke Control Area, in which some wood-burners are permitted. Defra’s guidance acknowledges their rise in popularity, adding: ‘Smoke from burning causes air pollution which harms the health of millions.’
But industry experts have pointed out that Defra has since admitted in its report ‘Emissions of Air Pollutants in the UK – Particulate Matter’ that domestic combustion emissions have significantly fallen behind traffic pollution.
A recent report from England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty (above) found even modern wood-burners produced 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating
And they point to figures showing that harmful domestic emissions have actually fallen by 72 per cent since 1990, and by 18 per cent between 2020 and 2023 alone.
Particulate matter (PMs) are small particles made up of a variety of materials, some of which can be toxic, and some of which can enter the bloodstream and be transported round the body with serious impact on health.
Domestic wood burning is the UK’s largest single source of particulate matter known as PM2.5, which is linked to health problems such as heart disease, strokes and lung cancer.
A report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies last December found the only source of PM2.5 emissions that increased between 2003 and 2022 was domestic combustion.
Only four fines were issued for illegal wood burning in Smoke Control Areas across England in the year to August 2024, despite 5,600 complaints.
