Smoke control in Lichfield, Burntwood, Armitage and part of Fazeley would move into one order under plans for 12 November. No new areas are added.

Lichfield District Council wants to replace its old smoke control orders with a single order covering the same places. If you have a wood burner or an open fire in Lichfield, Burntwood, Armitage with Handsacre or parts of Fazeley, the rules you already live under would not change. They would simply be written down in one place.

The council’s Regulatory and Licensing Committee is asked on Thursday 12 November to start a statutory public consultation on the change. The plan is set out in a report to the committee.

What is proposed

Smoke control currently applies through several separate orders, made over the decades since the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. They cover:

  • Lichfield city
  • Burntwood
  • Armitage with Handsacre
  • parts of Fazeley, on the district’s eastern edge

The council proposes to revoke those orders and make one consolidated order covering the same areas. The report calls it “a procedural simplification”. It says residents often struggle to work out which order applies to them when they fit a new stove.

No new areas, and no extension to villages

The committee report considered extending smoke control to more of the district and rejected it. It gives two reasons:

  • New Defra-approved stoves now cost about the same as unapproved ones.
  • Rural households that rely on solid fuel “tend to have no option”. Forcing smoke control on them would mean paying for new stoves or for more expensive fuel.

Scrapping the orders altogether was also rejected as “a backwards step”.

How often the rules are enforced

Enforcement is rare. The council’s environmental protection team deals with around 30 complaints about smoky chimneys a year, the report says. Most are settled informally, often because the resident did not know the rules and changes fuel once told. The last prosecution was in December 2022.

The report adds that smoke when a fire is first lit is often “permissible”.

What it means for you

Inside a smoke control area, the national rules on GOV.UK apply:

  • You cannot let smoke out of a chimney.
  • You can only burn an authorised smokeless fuel, unless your stove or appliance is approved by Defra. Wood counts as an unauthorised fuel.
  • In England, a chimney that releases smoke can bring a penalty of up to £300.
  • Buying unauthorised fuel to use in an appliance that is not Defra-approved can bring a fine of up to £1,000.
  • Outdoor barbecues, chimineas, fireplaces and pizza ovens are allowed. Garden bonfires are allowed too, though the separate rules on bonfires still apply.

To check whether your home is covered, use Defra’s national smoke control area map. To check a stove, look it up on Defra’s list of approved appliances. If you are buying a stove for a house in Lichfield or Burntwood, choose one on that list if you want to burn logs.

Have your say. If the committee agrees, the consultation will be advertised through statutory notices, and parish councils and ward councillors will be told. We will add the dates and how to respond when the notice is published.

The committee meets at 6pm. The agenda is on the council’s meetings site.