Under the Clean Air Act, certain areas of York have been designated 'Smoke Control' areas.
Check if you live in a Smoke Control area
Enter your address in to check whether your property is in a Smoke Control area:
Rules in Smoke Control areas
Smoke control areas are areas where it is illegal to emit smoke from a:
- chimney of a building, or
- chimney which serves the furnace of any fixed boiler or industrial plant
Within these areas:
- you're committing an offence if you allow smoke emissions from a chimney
- if you are burning an unauthorised fuel (such as wood) an appropriate Defra approved appliance must be used (also known as an ‘exempt appliance’)
- if using other appliances (for example, not Defra approved) you can only burn fuel on the list of authorised fuels, or ‘smokeless’ fuels such as anthracite, semi-anthracite, gas or low volatile steam coal. Open fires are not Defra approved
- it's illegal to buy or sell unauthorised fuels such as wood for use in a smoke control area, unless it is bought for use in a Defra approved appliance
Please note: the restrictions within Smoke Control areas do not apply to bonfires.
Supply and distribution of wood and manufactured solid fuels from 1 May 2021
The Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 have been made under the Environment Act 1995 and place controls on sale of solid fuels (mineral fuels and wood fuels) for domestic use in England. Local Authorities are responsible for enforcement of the regulations which will take effect from 1 May 2021.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has updated its guidance on the sale of wood, coal and manufactured solid fuels for domestic use in England:
- what you need to do to supply, distribute and sell wood for use in domestic heating appliances in England from 1 May 2021
- what you need to do to supply, distribute and sell manufactured solid fuels for use in domestic heating appliances in England from 1 May 2021