Over the past year, no cases of illegal wood burning were brought, despite 15,195 complaints worldwide. Englanddata shows.
In addition, local authorities issued just 24 fines between September 2024 and August 2025, responses to freedom of information requests from the Mums for Lungs campaign showed.
There were 9,274 complaints filed in smoke control zones alone—a 65% increase over the previous year. In these areas, households can only burn wood or other fuels in stoves approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which are designed to limit harmful emissions.
Under the Environment Act 2021, fines can be issued for breaking the rules, including £300 for smoking pipes or £1,000 for using unauthorized fuel in unapproved appliances.
The largest number of complaints were recorded in Swale in Kent, Birmingham, Manchester, Wakefield and Dorset, although most councils issued minor fines or no penalties at all.
Campaigners say the figures show a lack of compliance with existing air pollution laws, despite Growing concern about the health effects of wood smokemain source of fine particle pollution (PM2.5) in the UK.
Dr James Haydon, Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Nottingham, whose research focuses on environmental and social policy, said: “As an air pollution scientist, I receive emails every winter from people whose homes are filled with neighbours' wood smoke. Many are desperately worried about the impact this will have on their children's asthma or the health of their relatives. Often they have exhausted all possible options with the local council. The system clearly isn't working for them.”
Health experts are warning of rising rates of lung cancer among people who have never smoked, as well as the impact of air pollution on children. Air pollution is responsible for up to 36,000 premature deaths in the UK every year and costs the economy around £27 billion a year, according to the Royal College of Physicians.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has called for a phase-out of wood burning in urban areas, saying air pollution is the second biggest risk factor for under-five deaths in the UK and around the world. A recent study from University College London (UCL) found that people who use solid fuel stoves experience a faster decline in lung function than those who do not use them.
The previous government promised in its 2022 environmental improvement plan to tighten emissions limits for new stoves in smoke control zones, but legislation has yet to be passed. A promised review of the plan, confirmed earlier this year, remains unpublished.
Jemima Hartshorne, founder of Mums for Lungs, said failures in enforcement were exposing people to harmful smoke: “The government claims to have world-leading air pollution laws, but they are meaningless if they are not enforced.
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“The growing number of installations in densely populated areas needs to be controlled. By continuing to allow the installation of these appliances, the Government is delaying this issue and postponing the PM2.5 problem for future generations. Defra needs to evaluate its labeling of stoves as 'Defra approved' because it is being used to sell consumers the broader message that combustion is environmentally friendly.” clean.”
The 2025 UCL mapping project showed that the proportion of homes with wood burners rose from 9.4% in 2022 to 10.3% in 2024.
