Timber Development UK (TDUK) and the Structural Timber Association (STA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help grow and develop the timber construction market. Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties have agreed to form a partnership and collaborate on technical projects to further the development of timber design and construction as well as on policy related communication matters.
Both parties already produce technical and design guidance for architects, engineers and manufacturers. This new collaboration will help ensure that both parties avoid duplication in their work and that the market is better served with agreed, authoritative sources of technical information.
It will also ensure that the downstream, manufacturing and design sectors of the timber supply chain are speaking with ‘one voice’ to policy makers. This will be conducted according to a common advocacy plan under the umbrella of the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI). I’m delighted to sign this with the STA. In many ways it formalises what we have already been doing – working together to help grow the market – but gives a fresh impetus to us doing so. We formed TDUK last year to help bring different parts of the supply chain together. This MoU takes us one step closer to achieving that.
Both parties will also be working together to promote the use of timber as a housing construction solution during 2024. TDUK was formed in 2022 from the merger of Timber Trade Federation and TRADA – the two oldest trade bodies in the timber sector. The formation of TDUK creates the largest, most comprehensive supply chain body for timber in the UK with more than 1,200 members. TDUK formed with three key aims:
• Connect the supply chain: to improve dialogue, understanding and market opportunity between and for all points of the chain from sawmill to specifier
• Lead best practice: by building the largest, most comprehensive online library of technical specification and design guidance for our members
• Accelerate a low-carbon future: by creating the tools, training and guidance to support the design and construction sectors to utilise timber in their net-zero solutions.
The STA has more than 850 members and is the UK’s leading organisation representing the structural timber sector and associated supply chain companies. The Association exists to represent the collective interest of its members by providing confidence in the use of structural timber across the construction industry.
Working to influence legislation and regulation, the STA supports the objectives of the structural timber sector as a whole. By connecting construction professionals, the STA supports and collaborates with members to showcase the many benefits of structural timber. The STA also provides member benefits including the STA Assure Quality Assurance Scheme, research and testing, networking opportunities, and direct engagement with government and industry bodies.
A roadmap for timber construction
The STA and TDUK have been working closely together over the past 18 months, with Confor and others, to help inform the Government’s ‘Timber in Construction Roadmap’ – a policy initiative spanning several departments to help grow the market for timber construction.
The roadmap will be a policy document that outlines how the government plans to promote the safe expansion of timber construction. This document will be a culmination of working group discussions examining the actions government and industry must take to address key barriers to timber expansion. These barriers have been identified by industry subgroups as:
• Demand – how do we make timber the material of choice for builders?
• Supply – how do we ensure supply is adequate to meet future demand?
• Insurance – how do we address insurance fears with timber?
• Building safety – how can we expand timber construction safely?
• Carbon – how can we reduce carbon in the built environment?
• Labour and skills – how do we ensure the labour supply is adequate for future demand?
Through the CTI, both TDUK and STA have been working to shape these discussions, alongside industry partners such as the Confederation of Forest Industries and Built By Nature. You can read a lot more about out plans later this year with roadmap due to be published in November.
More at www.timberdevelopment.uk
Images: 1. Andrew Carpenter, chief executive, STA
2. David Hopkins, chief executive, TDUK
