New wood burning stoves would need to meet government standards to be installed in York homes under plans for controls to tackle air pollution.
Plans for a Smoke Control Area (SCA) would see orders controlling solid fuel burning extended across York, taking in areas including villages outside the outer ring road.
A report on the proposals, which could go out to consultation subject to a decision next week, stated that it would not ban the burning of solid fuels at home.
But it added households would have to take responsibility to help with wider efforts to tackle emissions linked to one in 22 deaths in York in 2022.
It comes as the council’s environment lead Cllr Jenny Kent is set to decide whether to approve a consultation on the plans on Tuesday (18 March).
Plans for the SCA would see it replace current smoke control orders which were put in place in the 1960s.
Current controls cover about 80 per cent of York’s homes but only around 14 per cent of the city’s administrative area.
If the SCA is expanded it would cover homes in Fulford, Heslington, Clifton Moor, New Earswick and Monks Cross which are not currently subject to domestic solid fuel burning rules.
The area would also take in villages including Bishopthorpe, Copmanthorpe, Dunnington, Earswick, Poppleton, Skelton, Stockton on the Forest and Strensell.
Air pollution
A total of 35 per cent of York homes which burn solid fuels to supplement their main heating systems are outside of the existing local SCAs.
SCAs restrict what can be burnt to authorised material like smokeless fuel.
Unauthorised fuel including wood can only be burnt in stoves that meets Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs standards.
SCAs do not regulate the use of outdoor barbeques, chimineas, pizza ovens or bonfires.
The council’s report stated the proposals followed a rise in popularity of wood burning stoves in recent years.
It added burning solid fuels was a major contributor to a type of pollution known as fine particulate matter (PM25).
Long term exposure to PM25 is estimated to have contributed to 4.6 per cent of deaths in York in 2022, according to the latest national public health figures.
Young children, the elderly and people with health conditions are most at risk from prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter.