Sector Focus: British Timber | 23
SUMMARY
■ There have been positive signs that policy makers are embracing the role of timber in green growth
■ The proportion of new softwood- producing forests planted in England was less than 10% of the total
■ Confor created a five-point plan for incoming policy makers ahead of the 2024 General Election
“HIDDEN INDUSTRY” INVEST IN OUR IT’S TIME TO
Confor CEO Stuart Goodall emphasises the strategic importance of securing a sustainable home-grown timber supply for decarbonising construction, reducing our increasing reliance on imports, and driving growth for the rural economy
Our new Labour government, faced with the challenge of delivering on campaign promises with an eye-watering deficit of £22bn, has wasted no time in outlining measures to cut spending and grow the economy, with more expected to come in the autumn Budget on October 30. However, among the scaled-back budgets and controversial cuts that have grabbed headlines, there has also been a commitment to deliver 1.5 million more homes in England as progress towards tackling the housing crisis.
The new targets will mean councils must boost housebuilding in areas most in need, helping more people buy their own homes, removing the largest barriers to economic growth, and “getting Britain building again”. With a desire to grow the economy and ‘on-shore’ supply chains, this presents an opportunity for the UK forestry and wood- processing industry to make clear the advantages of home-grown timber in the manufacture of wood-based construction systems and the opportunities for new products such as wood fibre insulation and engineered wood products.
WHY WOOD IS GOOD Above: Stuart Goodall is CEO of Confor
Around 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are from the built environment, and
the carbon benefits of using more wood are increasingly well known and understood. However, the UK already imports over 80% of the wood products it consumes and with global demand for wood forecast to increase faster than supply, it makes sense to increase our domestic timber production to reduce the UK’s increasing reliance on imports and create more high value manufacturing jobs and support businesses in rural areas. Encouragingly, there have been positive signs that policy makers are embracing the role of timber in green growth. Confor, alongside the Structural Timber Association (STA) and Timber Development UK (TDUK), is championing the delivery of the Timber in Construction Policy (TiC) Roadmap, a strategy laid out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in December last year.
The primary objectives of this plan are to increase the use of timber in construction, including the use of home-grown timber, to grow the economy through decarbonisation, and to help the UK meet its net zero target by 2045. Working groups have now been established
to take responsibility for each of the key priorities, driving forward the 51 critical projects identified by DEFRA. ►
www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2024 | TTJ
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