Readers on wood-burning stove Smoke Control Area rules

City of York Council’s Executive approved a city-wide Smoke Control Area (SCA) requiring households to either have Government-compliant stoves or to burn authorised smokeless fuel.

Cllr Jenny Kent, the council’s Labour environment spokesperson, said the measures aimed to curb pollution following reports of children developing coughs and struggling to breathe.

Strensall Liberal Democrat ward councillor Tony Fisher said older and poorer residents who rely on old stoves they cannot afford to replace for heating would be hit by the measures.

Solid fuel burning is a major contributor to PM2.5 fine particulate matter, a pollutant responsible for one in every 23 deaths in York in 2023 according to public health estimates.

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Readers had their say in comments on The Press website and on Facebook.

Drago said: “A load of rubbish, maybe the real issue is that kids don’t get out anymore and stay cooped up in the house?

“There’s another thing, what about all the cleaning sprays and chemicals used in the house that I know affect my chest so much I go outside while my wife uses them?”

York Commentator said: “Any council would have no choice but to protect public health with all this new evidence on particulate pollution.

“This evidence is another uncomfortable truth and we have to face up to it, however cosy and comforting wood-burning stoves are.

“The public health should always take priority, meanwhile if you can smell smoke, you are breathing it and it is likely to be harmful to your health if done so repeatedly.”

The new rules aim to curb health problems caused by smoke-related pollution (Image: Clean Air GM)

John Dobson said: “I had bronchial problems and asthma when I was young, we replaced the open fire with gas, it made no difference.

“It turned out to be cigarette smoke and an allergy to bird feathers that triggered my illness, not burning wood.

“I have a wood burner in my house today my asthma condition is almost non existent, summer or winter.”

David Briggs said: “Air pollution is a silent killer, this pollution is particularly dangerous for the young, elderly or those with existing health conditions.

“People choose to install a log burner in their home, those outside have no choice but to breathe in the pollution they cause.

“We have strict controls over what goes into our food, we have regulations over drinking water quality.

“However, for some reason we allow log burners to pollute the air we have to breathe, nonetheless, people bought these in good faith.

“As such there needs to be a ban on any new log burner sales, followed by a fair decommissioning, scrapage and compensation scheme.”

Dctyke said: “It’s gonna get a whole lot worse with folks who only have oil and cannot cannot afford the prices as their energy is not capped like other energy users.

“I for one will be using the wood burner to heat my house!”

Darren Thirkell said: “And yet it’s okay to keep chucking folk through the crematorium.

“Ban that first, who wants to keep smelling dead folk?”

Anne Marie Pike-Kilbride said: “As an asthma and COPD sufferer, I can honestly tell you I hate the bloody things.

“I can tell when someone close to where I live has theirs lit, my chest goes that tight I have to use my inhalers more.”