MP hits out at ‘urban’ calls for ban on woodburners
A SOUTH WEST MP has rounded on protesters who are campaigning to ban woodburners, saying people in rural areas depend on them for heating.
Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said: “I am starting to get somewhat fatigued by urban campaigners preaching to rural families as to how to conduct their lives – particularly when, clearly, they are not in possession of all the facts about life in the countryside.” He said there were numerous rural households without mains gas supplies where wood was vital for heating.
ANTI-WOOD burner campaigners need to get a grasp on the facts before criticising people who use them, says South West MP Ian LiddellGrainger.
He said those calling for a complete ban on the use of wood as a fuel seemed to have only a limited idea of rural energy issues.
Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said he had been contacted by a campaigner and invited to support the idea of banning wood stoves.
“But it became pretty obvious pretty quickly that she lived in a town and enjoyed all the convenience of mains energy supplies,” he said.
“When I explained that there were thousands of families in rural areas who did not have the benefit of piped gas, she was rather surprised. I don’t think she had the faintest idea of the realities of country living.
“And when I explained that there were countless households where wood was used not merely to provide a single heat source but to heat radiators and provide hot water, it was almost as though I was speaking a different language. I even had to explain what a back boiler was.”
Mr Liddell-Grainger said he was totally supportive of the ban on selling unseasoned wood because of the detrimental effect on air quality of burning it in towns and cities. “Thousands of woodburners have been installed in urban areas purely for cosmetic reasons, even though their owners have had no access to ready supplies of the seasoned wood that is needed for them to burn properly,” he said.
“Where other forms of energy are available to heat a town or city home, obviously it is senseless to run a wood burner inefficiently and add to air pollution simply because it looks attractive. But in rural areas wood remains a vital fuel source for thousands of households. They have no mains gas supply and to use electricity for heating the home is hideously expensive.
“They also know the wisdom of buying and using correctly seasoned wood because only by doing so will their stoves work efficiently and safely. I am starting to get somewhat fatigued by urban campaigners preaching to rural families as to how to conduct their lives – particularly when, clearly, they are not in possession of all the facts about life in the countryside. Remedying that deficiency might be a good initial step, if they wish to engage me in further debate.”
‘I am fatigued by urban campaigners preaching to rural families’ IAN LIDDELL-GRAINGER