TIMBER
TIMBER INDUSTRY WELCOMES ROADMAP
The timber industry worked with the government in setting up a new vision for the increasing use of timber in construction.
T
he UK Government published its Timber Construction Policy Roadmap at the end of December, which looks to boost the safe use of sustainable UK timber in construction, and increase domestic wood supply.
The policy roadmap is split into priority themes which look to identify both the opportunities and barriers to timber construction in England, including improving data, promoting timber, boosting skills, and addressing fire safety. It outlines the opportunities and barriers to the use of timber in construction in England, centred around seven priority themes: ¡ improving data on timber and whole life carbon ¡ promoting the safe, sustainable use of timber as a construction material ¡ increasing skills, capacity, and competency across the supply chain ¡ increasing the sustainable supply of timber ¡ addressing fire safety and durability concerns to expand the use of engineered mass timber ¡ increasing collaboration with insurers, lenders, and warranty providers ¡ promoting innovation and high performing timber construction systems
The roadmap comes after a significant amount of work by the Confederation of Timber Industries to advocate for timber, including a policy report - Timber in Construction: Barriers and Solutions - as well as political site visits, and APPG engagements.
The report was the culmination of months of collaboration between Government and industry, focused on identifying the important steps that need to be taken to encourage wider adoption of timber as a construction material.
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Rebecca Pow, parliamentary under secretary of state (Minister for Nature) said in the Ministerial Introduction: “Alongside increasing tree planting rates, we need to make good use of the timber arising from the trees we grow, both hardwood and softwood. We have identified that increased use of timber in the construction industry would make a significant difference to stimulate demand for domestic planting stock in England. “Increasing our home grown supply of wood, importantly, will reduce our reliance on imported timber. More and safe use of timber in construction will be a key step in supporting the forestry and wood processing sectors to grow and innovate, creating new green jobs and helping level up rural economies.” CTI members, Timber Development UK, and Structural Timber Association, feature heavily in the roadmap, having worked with government and industry partners in the Timber in Construction Working Group over the past 12 months.
Confederation of Timber Industries chair, Alex Goodfellow, said: “This roadmap is a cast iron commitment to increasing timber use in the UK and is a pivotal moment for our exciting, low- carbon industry. It provides a solid foundation in achieving this aim, setting out real intent from the government to tackle the barriers involved with timber construction.
He continues: “However, there are areas of the report, particularly in relation to embodied carbon, which we feel need to be bolder. It is a shame to see the government delay action on this to 2025.”
Timber Development UK CEO, David Hopkins, said: “It is great to see the government make a firm commitment to expanding low-
carbon timber construction in this policy document. By expanding low-carbon timber construction, particularly in the housing sector, we can decarbonise our built environment whilst simultaneously building high quality, efficient buildings.
Expanding timber construction also offers a range of economic benefits, helping regions to “level up” with green jobs, and creating localised manufacturing bases across the country which add value to raw timber products - whilst also being sustainable. “Though there are many positives from the roadmap, it must be viewed as a good start rather than the finished article. Some policy areas, particularly the carbon section, are light on commitment when it comes to tackling embodied carbon, despite its pivotal importance to net zero. The CTI/TDUK will continue to engage with government to ensure the commitments are actioned and expanded in the coming years.”
Structural Timber Association CEO Andrew Carpenter, said: “We are delighted that the UK Government has recognised the critical need to safely increase the use of timber in construction and we applaud the leadership that has been shown in setting this objective. The TIC Roadmap will be a beneficial driver in this effort, which is so vital to meeting the UK’s net zero carbon commitments, giving clarity and guidance to stakeholders throughout the construction industry. “Peronsally, it has been a pleasure to participate in such important work and we look forward to continued collaboration between Government and industry as we move to the next stage.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2024
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