Innovate UK is to fund a consortium set up by Grown in Britain to explore how more UK-grown hardwood could find its way into the UK construction supply chain, reducing reliance on imported timber.
The project partners include the BRE, the Forestry Commission, English Woodlands Timber, forest and wood charity the Sylva Foundation, contractor Willmott Dixon and representatives of the timber and merchant sectors.
Consultant Sustainable Construction Solutions, run by former BAM sustainability lead Charlie Law, and Resource Efficiency Services are also working on the project as advisers
The Innovate UK funding was won via a bid to its Supply Chain Innovation in Construction funding stream. The 12-month project is due to start in October 2015.
“If the timber can be got out of the woodlands at the right price, competitive with imported timber, we think demand will increase.”
Charlie Law
Dougal Driver, chief executive of Grown in Britain, commented: “There are more than 30 million tonnes of timber in unmanaged woodlands throughout the UK, which the project will begin the process of unlocking.
“With the UK relying on high levels of imported timber this Grown in Britain project is vital to breaking down barriers within the supply chain for home-grown hardwood, making it much more accessible and readily available.”
Charlie Law told Construction Manager that the study would examine hardwoods such a oak and ash, used for applications such as flooring, roofing, cladding, skirting and architraves. ‘It’s the timber you look sat – we’re not looking at timber frame,” he said.
”The first issue is getting the stock of timber out of the woodlands, so we’ll be looking at how we can increase that flow. If the timber can be got out of the woodlands at the right price, competitive with imported timber, we think demand will increase.”
The project will have five main work streams:
- Market research to establish the timber species and section sizes being purchased by the UK construction industry, and also to identify what timber is available in UK woodlands to match this;
- Timber stock funding options that will look to increase roundwood and sawn timber stocks without imposing additional risks on the supply chain;
- Creating a timber supply hub that will be able to locate available timber in independent saw mills around the UK;
- Material efficiencies, looking at how sawn wood yields could be improved;
- Industry engagement, to unite and galvanise the full support of the UK timber industry.
See Agenda: UK construction can’t see the wood for the trees
