TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 27
agriculture, and coniferous
woodland is less favourable
from a biodiversity perspective.
The new woodland creation
昀椀gures in England are heavily
tipped in favour of broadleaf
species, compounded by the
fact that areas of Conifer are
decreasing due to restructuring
and open habitat restoration
(mostly for good reason),
but it still means that timberproducing land is decreasing.
Meanwhile, the primary wood
processing industry in the UK
has invested more than £750
million in the past 15 years,
according to Confor, and the
north east of England is in the
unique position of receiving the
lion's share of the investment
in the next 昀椀ve years, including
James Jones & Sons' new stateof-the-art sawmill at Durham.
Considering the political
turmoil across the world, will the
Government start taking timber
security more seriously, given
the UK is currently the second
largest net importer of wood in
the world?
Don't forget building
with timber
What I 昀椀nd alarming is the
disconnect between building
houses and growing trees for
timber. The Labour Government
has committed to building 1.5
million new homes, and they
have a huge opportunity to do
this and deliver on net zero and
climate change commitments
simultaneously by using wood.
The TiC Roadmap shows the
built environment accounts
for 25% of greenhouse gas
emissions in the UK, and using
timber can reduce a building's
embodied emissions by 20-60%.
Construction-grade timber
in the UK is, by and large,
softwood. Therefore, if we want
to use more homegrown timber
in construction, we need to
grow more conifer woodland.
It seems so obvious, but
based on existing woodland
management and new
woodland creation, we don’t
seem to be realising this.
What happens to all of the
hardwood from the broadleaves
we grow? Around 85% is
burnt as wood fuel and
many broadleaf woods
are ravaged by squirrel
and deer damage,
rendering the sawn
timber of poor quality.
The good news is
that the Department
for Environment, Food
and Rural A昀昀airs has
committed to a policy
that encourages building
more with homegrown
timber. In theory, does
that mean we can move
down the ranks of being
the second-largest
net importer of forest
products?
I think it’s important
SUPPLYING TIMBER
27
that we realise that the UK
is among the least forested
nations in the world at 13%
(Forest Research). The FAO put
the European average forest
cover at 38% and the countries
we import most of our sawn
timber from, such as Sweden
(69% forest cover), Finland
(75%) and Latvia (53%), have
signi昀椀cant forest resources.
For context, this is important
when we compare forest
types, species diversity and
silvicultural systems. We are
asking a lot from the very little
forest we have in the UK.
Do we have the land to
increase forest cover? In theory,
yes. The Forestry Commission
have identi昀椀ed up to 3.2 million
hectares of low sensitivity land
that could be suitable for tree
planting, and the National Food
Strategy states that the least
productive 20% of agricultural
land in England produces only
3% of the calories consumed.
We now have a clear mandate
from the UK Government to
use more homegrown timber
in construction. This is why it is
so important for foresters and
wood processors to respond
to the Land Use Consultation
and make sure their voices are
heard.
SPRING 2025
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