Wood burning stoves
Wood burning stoves or appliances can be used in Westminster as long the stove is a Defra approved ‘exempt appliance’ and permitted fuel is used. However, combustion particulates known as PM2.5 can escape from stoves into the atmosphere and therefore Westminster Council encourages residents to use cleaner fuels such as gas or electricity wherever possible. Modern coal or wood effect gas fires look almost as good as a real fire (but perhaps never quite equal them aesthetically) and are much cleaner and cheaper to run. You can find more information in Defra's open fires and wood burning stoves leaflet (PDF, 240KB)
A list of Defra exempt appliances, together with more detailed information can be found on Defra's UK Smoke Control Areas Page (external link).
Domestic burning legislation, which came into force for England on 1 May 2020, includes certain restrictions such as:
- sales of bagged traditional house coal and wet wood in units under 2m³ are now unlawful;
- all manufactured solid fuels must now have a low sulphur content and only emit a small amount of smoke;
- wet wood in larger volumes must be sold with advice on how to dry it before burning;
- a new certification scheme will see products certified and labelled by suppliers to ensure that they can be easily identified, and retail outlets will only be able to sell fuel that is accompanied by the correct label.
Defra has produced guidance for Local Authorities (external link) to help enforce these regulations.
London Wood Burning Project
In 2022, we joined the London Wood Burning Project with 17 other London local authorities. This is funded by the Defra Air Quality Grant Scheme that provides funding to eligible Local Authorities to help improve air quality.
A report was commissioned on wood burning habits and health impact awareness across London, as well as an air quality data collection exercise to measure the concentrations of PM2.5 air pollution from wood burning both indoors and outdoors during the winter of 2022/2023.
Find out more about the London Wood Burning Project and the health impacts of domestic wood burning.