The government has laid out ambitious new plans to increase the use of timber in construction as part of its wider Plan for Change. The Timber in Construction Roadmap 2025 has been published on 4 March, and outlines new targets to increase the use of sustainable and low carbon building materials.
As part of the initiative, new tree planting schemes will be introduced to reduce the reliance on imports. Timber frame companies will be sourcing more of their supplies from domestic producers in the future, as the government seeks to mitigate rising costs of global timber as demand surges.
1.5m new sustainable homes by 2029
The UK is currently one of the world’s highest importers of timber, with only 20 per cent being from home-grown sources. However, as governments around the world seek to decarbonise the built environment in line with sustainability and net zero emissions targets, worldwide demand for timber is expected to quadruple by 2050.
The UK government has committed to building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, and plans to use Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to deliver affordable, energy efficient and environmentally friendly timer frame homes.
Environment Minister Mary Creagh said: “This Government is getting Britain building.
Our Plan for Change will build 1.5 million homes this Parliament. Timber will play a vital role benefitting development and nature.”
Plans to increase domestic forestry
The government emphasises that its plans go further than the previous administration, with more ambitious targets and plans to create new jobs in the forestry and wood processing sectors. This will drive economic growth, as well as reduce carbon emissions and create much needed new affordable housing.
Forestry Commission Chief Executive, Richard Stanford commented: “To reach net zero, we must increase timber production from homegrown trees and use that timber in our buildings to sequester carbon.”
“The Timber in Construction Roadmap will propel forestry production in England to ensure timber security, reduce our dependence on imports, and address the nature crisis by boosting biodiversity, improving water quality, and providing more green spaces for people.”
“The Forestry Commission will continue to collaborate closely with partners from the timber, forestry, and construction sectors in this critical area of work for many years ahead”.
A National Wood Strategy
According to Planning, Building and Construction Magazine, 10 per cent of the UK is currently covered by tree canopy, and the government has set a target to increase this to 16.5 per cent by 2050.
Alongside the Timber in Construction Roadmap, a National Wood Strategy will be implemented to increase timber production and also develop strategies to make more efficient use of timber.
For example, this might include furthering innovations such as the timber module system, which would enable more high rise buildings to be constructed with timber frames.
Prefabricated timber modules would be stacked on top of each other to create a high rise building, which would be easier to convert or repair than a conventional concrete and steel frame structure.
The modular skeleton system would allow damaged sections of the building to be removed and replaced with a new module, rather than requiring extensive renovations or demolition. This significantly reduces the amount of wasted materials, and also lowers the overall carbon footprint of the building.
Industry leaders welcome renewed commitment to timber
The head of the Structural Timber Association, Andrew Carpenter, welcomes the government’s renewed commitment to the timber industry, commenting: “The Government has a target of building 1.5 million homes while reducing emissions from building.”
“Factory-based, modern methods of construction such as timber frame will be vital to helping meet this target. Already we are seeing major housebuilders make investments in their own production capacity, this roadmap will encourage more timber-frame investment to develop the sector further. This is a win-win for government and industry.”
The commitment to produce higher volumes of homegrown wood-based construction products will help to create a more sustainable and low-carbon building industry, as well as boost the economy through green jobs and businesses. Currently, the forestry and wood processing sectors make an annual contribution of £3bn to the UK economy.