Council slaps household with £175 fine for using wood burning stove which emits ‘unreasonable and excessive smoke’

A council in Yorkshire has slapped a household with a £175 fine for using a wood burning stove which emits “unreasonable and excessive smoke”.

Wakefield Council dished out the penalty as part of measures updated in December.

The measures allow environmental health officers to issue fixed penalty notices to penalise emissions.

Current rules restrict the type of wood burners and fuel that can be used in homes.

The Smoke Control Order, which covers homes in Wakefield, means only “exempt” appliances approved by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs can be used in homes.

It also means only wood with a low moisture level can be burned.

The local council’s climate change cabinet member Jack Hemingway revealed action to enforce the air quality standards was now being taken.

He wrote: “The owner of a stove has been issued with a financial penalty notice to stop unreasonable and excessive smoke from a chimney serving a stove.

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“The penalty was a £175 fine. It is the first notice served since December 2023 when cabinet agreed to enforce recent changes to legislation brought in to improve air quality and protect health.”

Following the introduction of fines for owners of log burners last year, Hemingway added: “Ultimately the powers will only be utilised following a verbal discussion and written warning. There is also a full appeals process.

“But it is necessary to have stronger powers for repeat offenders blighting our communities.

“The new notices will help to end this nuisance behaviour which emits harmful particles and will improve air quality and public health in the district.”

The council will discuss the full details of the report on Wednesday.

It recommended developing an awareness campaign on log burners and the importance of buying the right fuel.

Wakefield Council investigated 216 complaints related to domestic chimneys between 2019 and 2022.

Fines starting from £175 were introduced under new powers brought in through the Environment Act 2021.

However, the Stove Industry Association claimed emissions of harmful pollutants from domestic wood burning fell by 2.7 per cent in 2022.

Estimates suggest there are around 1.5 million wood burning stoves, with up to 200,000 sold each year.