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HAVE YOUR SAY: save householders from "woodstove regret"

Updated: 4 days ago


Within the first days and weeks of the launch of our 2026 campaign on woodstoves, we've had overwhelming evidence why change is needed. One in 12 homes have installed them - but the pictures here of unused stoves capture the regret of householders who've stopped using them, when they realise the health harms putting them, their loved ones and their neighbours at risk.


Already, we've a chance to tackle this. The Government has announced tighter rules - its consultation runs until 19 March. Below we outline suggested responses. The proposals do not go far enough, but if we all spell out why more is needed, we can make a vital difference. Please spread the word to organisations and individuals to respond. And you can see our Cleaner Air 2026 campaign overall goals here.


REGRETS OF PEOPLE WHO INSTALLED WOODSTOVES

Local people who bought woodstoves - then abandoned using them - have told us:

🔥 “We installed a wood burner thinking it was good for the environment. It’s awful to find out that it’s quite the opposite.” 

🔥“We thought it was eco-friendly but how wrong we were! We feel we were misled by the industry promoting them.”


SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATION

Here's a link to the Government's consultation:

And our in-depth explainer on woodstoves can be seen here:


Basic points to consider in your consultation response include:

  • The proposals for woodstoves already installed are inadequate. About 12% of homes already have woodstoves, and these may last for 20-30 years. They will continue to emit ultrafine particles: that is a potential 3.5 million homes where people, pets and local wildlife are at risk. More than 90% of those homes already have a separate heat source; if they stopped using woodstoves, it could save the NHS £54m.

  • For new installations, we welcome the change of labels on woodstoves to emphasise to health harms, but the wording for the proposed labels is not strong enough.

  • The same point applies to the proposed label for wood purchase. The example says: “Burning in the home leads to air pollution which has a negative impact on the health of you and your family” – “negative impact” is not strong enough to reflect potential death or the wide range of severe conditions. We recommend: “which risks health harm or even fatality for you, your family, your neighbours”.

  • The proposed stricter limits on emissions are not accompanied by adequate monitoring or enforcement. UK levels of penalties are pitifully low – all local authorities must be required to publicise annually the levels of PM2.5 particles in local areas, levels of complaints by local area and level of penalties imposed. Research has found that no prosecutions for illegal wood burning were made in England in the year to August 2025, despite 15,195 complaints. Only 24 fines were issued by local authorities during that period. In addition, the Government must consider introducing “real-time” protections for local people (such as that in Paris, where PM2.5 levels are monitored and bans on the use of woodstoves declared when levels reach dangerous heights).

  • The proposed changes fail to implement the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations that wood-burning stoves in homes should be phased out because of the carbon they emit. Wood burning smoke also contains fine particle air pollution (PM2.5), which is widely seen as the air pollutant that has the most devastating impact on human health.

  • The Future Homes Standard states as its aim that it will mandate that new homes in England be designed for low-carbon heating and high energy efficiency. Essentially, such houses will be carbon neutral once the grid itself is decarbonised. The weakening of these rules for developers by allowing wood-burning stoves as a secondary heating source appears to go against these stated aims.

  • The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (with the Healthy Air Coalition of which it is a member) has called for an action plan for the phasing out of domestic wood burning to be developed. Allowing wood-burning stoves in new homes despite the growing evidence showing their significant contribution to air pollution and carbon emissions, is a backward step in the fight to improve air quality and protect public health.

    Mark Elliott, President of CIEH, said: "We urge the Government to be serious about air quality and protect the public from the harms that PM2.5 has on their health." It called on the Government to reconsider allowing woodstoves in new homes. "We will continue to advocate for homes being heated in the cleanest way possible to reduce the pollutants people and communities create, the health impacts they cause and the strain this generates on our health services.”

**NEWS COVERAGE OF CONSULTATION ANNOUNCEMENT: article here.


SUPPORT AND RESPONSES SINCE OUR CAMPAIGN LAUNCH


  • Mary Glindon, Newcastle East MP, said in her regular newspaper column: "I ask you to think carefully about the harms to our health of woodburners". She expressed support for Climate Action Newcastle's drive to raise awarenesness, and said: "The message of Clean Air Night 2026 is that wood burning is the most polluting way to heat your home and even with newer ‘Ecodesign’ wood burners homes are three times more polluted than those without Respected groups such as the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health, and Mums for Lungs also back this message."

  • Research findings have been shared with us: a recent Biobank report found tiny particles from woodburning "particularly concerning", while damage to our insect populations has been spelled out by the Royal Entomological Society. 

  • Newcastle City Council: " "We understand the  importance of clean air in the city and  recommend that residents consult our air pollution page - https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/environment-and-waste/environmental-health-and-pollution/air-pollution."

 
 
 

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