Council continues wood burner crackdown plans

An air quality plan that could lead to fines for people with wood-burning stoves in their homes has been approved.

As part of the scheme, all of Norwich could become a smoke control area in a bid to curb the use of wood burners in the city.

Households with log burners would risk £300 fines for burning the wrong fuel or letting visible smoke out of their chimneys. Selling fuel could attract fines of up to £1,000.

A city council consultation on the proposals showed people were split over the plans, with 55% of respondents opposed to the creation of a city-wide zone.

Just 37% of people who responded supported it and 8% said they were unsure.

Despite this, cabinet documents confirm the Green Party-led administration at City Hall is pressing on with the policy, stating that the matter was still under review but "the growth of small particulate emissions from wood burning is of concern".

Toby Bolton, Green cabinet member for climate, described the consultation as producing a "mixed response" but claimed the results "may not fully capture the experiences of all communities".

"The growth of small particulate emissions from wood burning is a concern to this administration," he said at a meeting.

"There is no safe level of air pollution."

The eight-week consultation drew 557 responses.

Researchers at University College London estimate there are about 100 stoves per square kilometre in Norwich.

One resident said: "It would be a travesty of our human rights to ban our ability to heat our homes with wood.

"Let us keep our wood burners – they're a great plan B when we can't afford the heating bill from gas in the winter."

But another told the council: "The pollution from log burners at night is by far the worst air I've experienced."

More than half of respondents – 51% – did not know parts of Norwich were already smoke-control areas.

These currently cover King Street, Bowthorpe and the area around Norwich Airport.

Wood burners would not be completely banned under a citywide zone.

Owners could keep using Defra-approved stoves or authorised smokeless fuels.

But producing smoke would become an offence anywhere in the city, while selling or burning unauthorised fuel would attract fines of up to £1,000.

The council received just six complaints about smoke from homes last year – up from two the year before – with no enforcement action taken.

As well as the smoke zone review, the plan includes air pollution monitors near schools and in neighbourhoods with high numbers of wood burners, alongside a "Burn Better" awareness campaign and a crackdown on car engine idling.

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