The United Kingdom has doubled down on its plans to scale up timber used in construction, which the Keir Starmer government said “is (one of) the best way to reduce emissions in buildings” and meet Net Zero targets.
That is according to Mary Creagh, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Nature), who said the UK faces some of its biggest challenges yet – climate change, the housing crisis and driving economic growth: “Timber offers a solution as a renewable, low-carbon resource. It offers immense potential to reduce emissions, create jobs, and build the homes we need.”
Published on Monday, “Timber in Construction Roadmap 2025” is the latest and, to date, the most ambitious policy delivered by successive UK governments aiming to reduce the barriers to using timber construction across England: “We must increase the production and use of sustainable, homegrown timber. Planting more trees is essential as we work to meet our target of increasing tree canopy and woodland cover from 14.5% in 2024 to 16.5% by 2050. But it is not enough to only plant trees – we must also make the most of the trees we have.”
To solve the housing crisis, we are committed to delivering 1.5 million homes this Parliament. To meet this challenge efficiently and sustainably, we will incorporate timber into the construction sector through innovative modern methods of construction. They will help us create high-quality, affordable homes while driving economic growth.
Mary Creagh, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Nature) on the Keir Starmer agenda.
“Using timber in construction is not a new idea – archaeological evidence shows we’ve been building with timber for over 10,000 years,” Minister Creagh said. “Parliament’s Westminster Hall is a fantastic case in point, boasting the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe. This document signals the next stage in using timber and wood products to meet changing societal priorities.”
Wood Central understands the report – an update on the roadmap published by the outgoing Rishi Sunak government – promotes English forestry as a “green investment opportunity,” markets homegrown C16 softwood timbers “as a fit for purpose” solution and develops higher-strength timbers from its forest resource.
“At the individual level, carbon storage is 50% higher in timber framed homes than in masonry homes and can be up to 400% higher for larger buildings that use engineered timber products like Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) over concrete”.
It will also increase collaboration with insurers, lenders, and warranty providers – which could see the government introduce a risk register by 2028 – and invest in volumetric timber and off-site construction systems to develop faster and more circular construction methods. Wood Central has obtained a copy of the report, which supports the UK’s “Net Zero Strategy, the England Trees Action Plan and the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan to increase the safe use of timber in construction (TiC) in England.”
As it stands, the UK is the world’s third-largest import market for timber, with three tropical countries in the top 21 suppliers of non-furniture products – including Indonesia (2.6%), Brazil (1.5%) and Malaysia (1.2%). “Ensuring that our imported timber supply continues to be sourced from sustainable forests is vital as the carbon sequestration benefits of timber construction can only be claimed in whole-life carbon assessments of buildings if that timber is from sustainably managed forests,” the report said.
Minister Creagh said the roadmap supports the Starmer government’s ambitions for a circular economy and a low-carbon future. “The built environment accounts for 25% of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. By increasing the use of timber, which sequesters carbon, we can significantly reduce these emissions to achieve net zero by 2050 while growing our economy.
“This aligns with broader initiatives such as zero-waste economy, and decarbonisation of concrete, steel, and cement.”
Minister Creagh on the importance of using mass timber as a substitute for concrete, steel and cement.
A vital part of the plan is to address the UK’s softwood availability, which is expected to reduce over the next 25 years and grow woodland to cover at least 16.5% of the English landmass by 2050.
Wood Central understands that just 9% of English homes are timber-framed (based on 2019 figures), which compares to Scotland, where this figure was 92% – and given England’s low rates of timber building, the government is looking to unlock the industry at scale and speed. According to Andrew Carpenter, CEO of the UK’s Structural Timber Association, there is existing capacity in the established supply chain to double timber frame manufacturing output to achieve 100,000 homes per annum – equivalent to 1-in-3 of the 300,000 homes needed each year.
“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,” he said. “Already we are seeing housebuilders make investments in their own production capacity; this roadmap will encourage more timber-frame investment to develop the sector further.”
“By expanding low-carbon timber construction, particularly in the housing sector, we can decarbonise our built environment whilst simultaneously building high quality, efficient buildings,” according to David Hopkins, the CEO of Timber Development UK. “As a bio-based industrial supply chain, the timber sector can play a unique role in the low-carbon economy – sequestering emissions in the forest and storing them in our buildings.”
The policy, which has seven key priority areas, will be considered alongside broader government-industry initiatives for industrial decarbonisation, which includes the low-carbon concrete route map led by the Green Construction Board.
- For more information, download the “Timber in Construction Roadmap 2025” here.
