Smoke control areas: what GOV.UK, GOV.WALES and the Clean Air Act say about burning wood

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the GOV.UK rules page, the GOV.WALES collection, Part III of the Clean Air Act 1993 on legislation.gov.uk and one Defra permitted fuels page. The short England summary in the burning wood and biochar guide is the starting point; this page adds the Act and the Welsh position.

What a smoke control area is

GOV.UK describes smoke control areas as parts of the UK where smoke cannot be released from a chimney and only authorised fuel may be burned, unless the appliance is one Defra has approved, called an exempt appliance. Section 18 of the Act lets a local authority declare the whole or any part of its district a smoke control area by an order, and lets the order exempt named buildings, classes of building or types of fireplace on conditions set in the order. Section 19 lets the Secretary of State direct an authority to prepare proposals for such orders if the authority has not used its power enough.

GOV.UK says the local council's environmental services department can say whether an address is in one. GOV.WALES says there are smoke control areas in parts of Flintshire, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham, and points to the Wales Smoke Control Areas Map on DataMapWales.

Wood as a fuel

The GOV.UK page lists anthracite, semi-anthracite, gas and low volatile steam coal as smokeless fuels, and says other fuel must be on the list of authorised fuels unless an exempt appliance is used. It names wood as an example of an unauthorised fuel that can be burned only in an exempt appliance such as some boilers, cookers and stoves, and only in the form the maker says the appliance can take. It says outdoor barbecues, chimineas, fireplaces and pizza ovens can be used in these areas, that a roof chimney on a building such as a summerhouse brings the fuel rule into play, and that garden bonfires are allowed under the separate bonfire rules.

The Defra Clean Air Act data entry system has a permitted fuel entry called wood logs with a maximum moisture content of 20 percent. The entry is a list of named stove and fire models, each with a comment thread, so the moisture figure is tied to the models on that list. Moisture and drying are covered in the wood moisture and drying guide.

England and Wales side by side

Point	England	Wales
Smoke from a chimney	Section 19A and Schedule 1A of the Act provide for financial penalties. GOV.UK gives a penalty of up to £300.	Section 19E and Schedule 1A provide for financial penalties. GOV.WALES says it is an offence to emit smoke from a chimney of a building, including outdoor buildings with a chimney such as summerhouses.
Buying fuel	Section 19B makes it an offence to acquire controlled solid fuel for use in a building, fireplace or fixed boiler or plant to which a smoke control order applies. Level 3 on the standard scale is the fine limit in the Act. GOV.UK gives up to £1,000.	Section 19F makes the same kind of acquisition of solid fuel other than authorised fuel an offence, with a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale.
Selling fuel	Section 19B(4) and (5): failing to notify buyers when selling by retail for taking away, and selling by retail for delivery to a building or premises under an order. A defence exists where the seller had reasonable grounds to believe the building was outside the order or the fuel was for an approved fireplace or a boiler outside the order.	Section 19F(1)(d): selling by retail for delivery to a building or premises under an order, with the same kind of defence.
Fuel list	Controlled solid fuel is any solid fuel other than an approved fuel on a list published by the Secretary of State (section 19D).	Authorised fuel means a fuel on a list published by the Welsh Ministers (section 19G).
Exempt fireplaces	An approved fireplace is a type on the Secretary of State's list (section 19D).	An exempt fireplace is a type on the Welsh Ministers' list (section 19G).
Area exemptions	The Secretary of State may suspend or relax the penalty or the fuel offences for all or part of an area by order, after consulting the local authority (section 19C).	The Welsh Ministers may do the same by regulations (section 19H).

The repeal of sections 20 to 23

Legislation.gov.uk shows sections 20 to 23 of the Act, the old offence of emitting smoke from a chimney in a smoke control area and the exemptions that went with it, as repealed for England and Wales on July 31, 2025 by the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024. The Welsh sections 19E to 19H came in on the same date. The English sections 19A to 19D were inserted on May 1, 2022 by the Environment Act 2021.

The GOV.WALES collection carries guidance for homes and businesses and for local authorities, dated July 30, 2025, and lists the authorised fuels and exempt appliances for Wales on the Defra system.

For wood burned as waste rather than as a fuel see tree waste and chip rules.

Contains public sector information from GOV.UK, GOV.WALES and legislation.gov.uk, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.