Dorset campaigners warn children's health will suffer if more isn't done to stop wood burning
Dorset Council received the fifth most complaints in the country about harmful wood burning
Newly released data has exposed the scale of England’s wood-burning problem and the near-total lack of enforcement by local authorities.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that despite 15,195 complaints from residents about harmful wood burning since 2022, councils have issued just 24 fines nationwide.
There have been 274 complaints lodged by residents in Dorset, that’s the fifth more in the country.
The findings come amid growing alarm from health experts about the public health consequences of domestic wood and coal burning, which is now the largest source of fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) in the UK.
Exposure to PM2.5, tiny airborne particles that penetrate deep into the lungs, is linked to heart disease, stroke, dementia and cancer.
Medical professionals have raised concerns about the rising incidence of lung cancer in people who have never smoked, particularly among young women, with indoor air pollution and wood-burning stoves identified as potential risk factors.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has called for the phasing out of domestic wood burning in urban areas, warning that air pollution is now the second leading risk factor for death in children under five both globally and in the UK.
Despite the introduction of so-called “ecodesign” stoves, which are marketed as cleaner, studies show they still emit 450 times more PM2.5 than a gas boiler - while open fires produce a staggering 4,000 times more.
The latest estimates also show air pollution contributes to up to 36,000 premature deaths each year in the UK and costs the economy £27 billion annually in healthcare and productivity losses.
Meanwhile, the use of wood burners continues to rise. University College London research shows that the proportion of homes with wood-burning stoves increased from 9.4% in 2022 to 10.3% in 2024 - despite mounting evidence of their environmental and health impacts.