Stove season is here. Before you light the first fire of the winter, or buy a new log burner, it is worth checking one thing: whether your home is in a smoke control area. The rules decide which stoves and fuels you can use, they vary from council to council, and several cities have changed them in the last two years.
This guide explains what smoke control areas are, what you can burn in one, what has changed for 2026–27 and how to check the rules where you live. Information was checked against GOV.UK, Defra and council sources in October 2026.
What is a smoke control area?
A smoke control area is a part of a council’s district where you must not let smoke out of a chimney. Councils create them under the Clean Air Act. Many date back to the 1950s to 1980s, when they were introduced to clear coal smoke from towns and cities.
They are not a ban on stoves or fires. You can still have a log burner in a smoke control area, as long as you use the right appliance or the right fuel.
What can you burn in a smoke control area?
According to GOV.UK, in a smoke control area you can:
- Burn an authorised fuel on the official list, or a smokeless fuel such as anthracite, semi-anthracite, gas or low volatile steam coal, in any appliance.
- Burn wood in an exempt appliance. Some stoves are approved by Defra to burn wood without producing smoke. You must only use the fuels the manufacturer specifies for that stove.
What that means in practice: burning logs on an open fire, or in a stove that is not exempt, is not allowed in a smoke control area. Many modern wood-burning stoves are exempt, but not all of them, so check the model on Defra’s list of exempt appliances before you buy.
Barbecues, chimineas, fire pits and pizza ovens are not covered by smoke control rules. Garden bonfires are covered by separate nuisance rules.
What are the penalties?
In England, you can be fined up to £300 if smoke comes from your chimney in a smoke control area, and up to £1,000 for buying unauthorised fuel to use in an appliance that is not exempt (GOV.UK). Many councils, including Reading, Cambridge and Cumberland, have adopted policies to issue penalties of £175 to £300. Some, such as York, say they will focus on education first, with penalties as a last resort.
Wherever you live: burn dry wood
Wet wood produces far more smoke and much less heat. In England, wood sold in quantities under 2 cubic metres must be certified Ready to Burn, which means a moisture content of 20% or less. If you season your own logs, store them under cover, with air around them, for at least two years.
What has changed for 2026–27?
A growing number of councils have replaced their patchwork of old smoke control areas with a single area covering the whole city:
- Newcastle upon Tyne: one citywide order replaced 72 older ones in September 2024.
- Oxford and Reading: both became wholly smoke control areas on 1 December 2024. Before that, only about half of Oxford and around 62% of Reading were covered.
- Wirral: the whole borough has been a smoke control area since 1 August 2025, including villages such as Brimstage, Thornton Hough and Raby that were not covered before.
- Birmingham: already a smoke control area since 1985; a new order from 23 March 2026 extended the rules to the city’s waterways.
- Coming next: Brighton & Hove approved a citywide smoke control area in May 2026; Cambridge’s citywide area is due to start by 31 January 2027; York is extending its area (which already covers about 80% of households) to the whole city; Norwich has proposed a single citywide area.
If you live in one of these places and bought a non-exempt stove when your street was outside the old boundary, check where you stand now.
Smoke control in your area
Here is the current position for the areas we cover. Each link goes to a local page with the details, links to the council’s own information, and advice on fitting a stove in that area.
The whole council area is a smoke control area
- Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol, Derby, Doncaster, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Huddersfield
- Hull, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading
- Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Wakefield, Wirral
Most of the area is covered
- Belfast, Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Dundee, Leeds, Middlesbrough
- Sheffield, York
Some parts of the area are covered
- Armagh & Craigavon, Exeter, Luton, Milton Keynes, Newport, Northampton, Norwich, Peterborough
- Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Wolverhampton, Workington & West Cumbria
No smoke control areas
- Cardiff has no smoke control areas.
- Plymouth has no smoke control areas.
- Defra’s map does not currently show any in Aberdeen, Blackpool, Bournemouth & Poole, Colchester, Derry / Londonderry, Grimsby & Cleethorpes, Ipswich, Sandhurst & Camberley or Swindon, but check with your council, as rules can change.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Wales: smoke control areas exist in parts of Flintshire, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham. You can check an address on the Welsh Government’s smoke control map.
- Scotland: councils set their own smoke control areas; the whole of Glasgow and the whole of Edinburgh are smoke control areas, and nearly all of populated Dundee is covered. Ask your council if you are unsure.
- Northern Ireland: most councils have smoke control areas in some towns; only Fermanagh and Omagh, and Mid Ulster, have none (Air Quality NI).
How to check your own address
- Look on your council’s website for “smoke control areas”. Most councils publish a map or a postcode checker.
- In England, use Defra’s smoke control area map. Defra says its map is indicative, so confirm with your council if your home is near a boundary.
- If in doubt, ask your council’s environmental health team before you buy a stove.
Before you buy a log burner: a quick checklist
- Check your smoke control status, using the steps above.
- Choose a Defra-exempt stove if you are in a smoke control area, or might be soon. It is also the cleaner choice anywhere.
- Use a registered installer. In England and Wales, a HETAS-registered installer can certify that the work meets Building Regulations (Approved Document J). Otherwise it needs approval from your council’s building control.
- Fit a carbon monoxide alarm. One must be fitted in the room when a new solid fuel stove is installed.
- Get the chimney checked. Older chimneys usually need sweeping, inspecting and lining. Homes without a chimney may be able to use a twin-wall flue.
- Burn only dry wood, with 20% moisture or less.
Find a vetted stove installer
TradeWatch UK can put you in touch with vetted, accredited stove installers who know the local rules. Find your area or request free quotes, with no obligation.
Sources: GOV.UK smoke control area rules; Defra smoke control area map; Welsh Government; Air Quality NI; council smoke control pages, linked from each local page. Checked October 2026. This article is a general guide, not legal advice. Rules can change, so always check with your council.