Wood burns hole in the pocket

AN unintended consequence of government subsidies encouraging biomass electricity generators to burn wood are having a hugely detrimental impact on the future of wood manufacturing in the UK.

That’s a claim supported by Oldham-based Howarth Timber and Building Supplies, which has seen the cost of panel products such as chipboard soar.

Raw material costs have risen by 30 per cent, with a 10 per cent increase in the last quarter alone.

Howarth Timber, which has its North Manchester headquarters in Shaw Road, has joined the Make Wood Work campaign to secure future wood supplies and persuade the Government to rethink policies they believe are environmentally flawed and making the already- fragile wood supply and demand balance in the UK even worse.

Howarth Timber’s Neale Brewster said: “Inevitably, higher costs to us have to be passed on to the consumer.

“It’s the last thing we want to do, especially as the construction industry has suffered a catastrophic knock during the recession.”