Thousands of complaints were made to council in one year for the illegal burning of wood in smoke-control areas (Image: Getty)
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 , shows that the law around illegal wood burning is not being enforced in England, campaigners said.
Based on the request made by the campaign group, it was revealed that 5,608 objections were made to councils in just one year.
Between September 2023 and August 2024, the local authorities handled about 100 complaints a week from illegal burning of wood in smoke-control areas. However, only four fines of around £300 each were issued.
In , there were 783 complaints made but the council failed to issue a single enforcement letter or carry out an inspection. This was also the case for Cheshire East which had 141 complaints but took no further action.
By contrast, Bromley Council in South East London issued 275 enforcement letters in response to the same number of complaints and carried out 135 inspections while city council received 213 complaints, but only issued seven warning letters.
While many have positive associations with wood burning, which is often seen as a cosy, attractive way to heat up a room, these stoves emit high levels of particulate matter.
Also known as PM2.5, these fine particulates are dangerous and can increase the risk of health problems like heart disease, asthma, lung cancer and mortality.
In the UK domestic combustion is one of the biggest sources of PM2.5. The term “domestic combustion” covers the burning of wood, coal, solid smokeless fuels and fuels derived from waste such as coffee logs.
Most of the PM2.5 emissions from domestic combustion come from households burning wood in stoves and open fires.
In a recent survey by , it was found that 22% of the UK public use an open fire and/or wood-burning stove in their home.
Moreover, 37% of Londoners who participated in the survey said they use an open fire and/or a wood-burning stove in their home, despite the capital being a smoke-control area.
Wood burning stoves can increase the risk of serious health problems such as asthma and lung cancer (Image: Getty)
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Many parts of the UK are smoke control areas that are under strict guidelines. For those in smoke-control areas, which have higher levels of pollution, you are not allowed to release smoke from a and people can only burn authorised fuel.
In England, the penalty for failing to abide by these guidelines can result in fines ranging from up to £300 to £1000.
This data comes after England’s chief medical officer warned in his annual report earlier this month that the trend for wood burners has “reversed” years of improvements to air quality.
In Sir Chris’s annual , he wrote: “Until recently domestic space heating has over many decades previously been improving with the switch away from coal and other highly polluting solid fuels to gas which.
“Unfortunately, an enthusiasm for wood burners has reversed this positive trend over the last decade in many cities, particularly in affluent areas.
“In urban areas where there are already laws to enforce smokeless fuels, for good reason because air pollution is extremely dangerous at high concentrations, these should be adhered to.”
Whitty acknowledged that we had come “a long way” in terms of reducing outdoor air pollution in cities over the last 100 years but added that “we need to ensure that the current enthusiasm for wood burners does not lead to a significant and avoidable deterioration in air quality in cities.”