The Building from England’s Woodlands project, supported by the Forestry Commission’s Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund, has shown that England’s broadleaf forests could contribute to the delivery of low-carbon buildings, enhance biodiversity and help strengthen domestic timber supply chains.
Led by the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), Ecosystems Technologies and dRMM Architects, the project investigated how English-grown timber could be better utilised within modern construction systems.
The research found that English hardwoods can make a significant contribution to structural applications when carefully selected and appropriately specified.
The project also developed hybrid engineered timber products that combine hardwood and softwood within a single structural component.
Testing demonstrated that hybrid cross-laminated timber and glued-laminated timber (glulam) products achieved the required strength and durability standards using existing manufacturing processes.
Incorporating hardwood into critical structural areas also resulted in material savings of approximately 10% to 15%.
Practical demonstrations included the Building from Forests display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, along with the installation of a hybrid hardwood-softwood glulam beam in NMITE’s new Skills Hub building in Hereford.
The project concluded that increasing the use of English timber could help reduce embodied carbon, enhance long-term carbon storage within buildings, support more resilient and biodiverse forests, and strengthen rural economies through local manufacturing and value-added processing.
The research said the findings represent a step towards a future where forestry, manufacturing and construction are more closely connected to deliver sustainable buildings while supporting healthier landscapes and stronger local economies.
The work also supports the UK government’s Timber in Construction Roadmap and wider net zero objectives.
David Bole, head of green economy and skills at the Forestry Commission, said: “By unlocking the potential of our forests, we can reduce reliance on imported and carbon-intensive materials, support healthier and more resilient woodlands, and create new opportunities for sustainable growth across the forestry, manufacturing and construction sectors.”
Louise Rogers, impact manager of housing and manufacturing at BE-ST, said: “This work directly supports the ambitions of the Timber in Construction Roadmap by providing evidence that innovation, domestic manufacturing capability and supply chain collaboration can help accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon built environment.”
Recent research from the University of Manchester found that future climate change will require the housing sector to make a clear shift towards summer cooling requirements in social housing.
Meanwhile, a housing association recently called on social landlords to increase efforts to improve biodiversity, arguing that it is “in the sector’s interest” to invest in nature recovery.
