Solid Fuel Burning Project

This survey has now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part during the formal survey period.

Welcome to the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) survey on solid fuel burning habits. We want to learn more about how people are using solid fuel burners of different kinds, what type of fuel they are burning, and how often.

You will have the opportunity to enter a competition prize draw at the end of the survey, with the chance to win a Better Burning Bundle, worth £100! Read the competition rules to find out more.

WNC have been given a government Grant to conduct local research on solid fuel burning at home and how this may affect air quality and impact health, as there is little local research currently available. This survey forms part of a wider range of actions being progressed to reduce pollution across West Northamptonshire.

The survey is anonymous and has a number of questions which will help us to understand what, how and when you burn so that we can improve awareness of the risks of air pollution.

This survey is being conducted by Deetu on behalf of WNC and closes on Friday 31st January 2025. All feedback from this survey will be anonymous.

We are also looking for people to volunteer to take part in having their indoor air quality monitored. This would involve having small monitoring equipment temporarily in your home so data can be collected. If you would like to take part in this, you will have an opportunity to leave contact details at the end of the survey. This information will be stored separately to ensure your survey response remains anonymous.

If you would like to request this survey in another format, please send us an email at environmentalhealth@westnorthants.gov.uk.

West Northamptonshire Council has been successful in receiving Government funding so it can work with residents to understand the impact of solid fuel burners in the home on air quality and public health across West Northamptonshire. Solid fuel can include things such as coffee logs, wood, briquettes and coal. There is little information available locally on the types of burners people use, the kind of fuel they burn, and how often they’re used. With the increased popularity of solid fuel burners, alongside a potential link with exacerbating existing health issues such as asthma and other lung conditions, the Council wants to see if there are any links between what we burn and the impacts on our most vulnerable adults and children. The project will support the national target for particulate matter emissions (PM2.5).

The solid fuel burning project will involve voluntary completion of an online survey to better understand your domestic burning practices and habits, and your knowledge about how you can improve the way your fuel burner works, to save money and reduce emissions. There is also the option to be entered into a Free Prize Draw for completion of the survey. We are also looking for 10 volunteers to have an air quality monitor located within their homes so that air quality specialists can gather air quality data over the next two burning seasons (2024/25 and 2025/26) to help understand what the impact of burning wood and other solid fuels has on air quality and public health.

  • To better understand why, how and when people burn solid fuels at home.
  • To better understand the community's knowledge and awareness about the health and environmental impact of burning solid fuels at home.
  • To better understand the community's knowledge about how to operate a solid fuel burner to save money, reduce emission and improve health.
  • To measure local indoor and outdoor air quality where solid fuel burning is taking place so we can better understand its impact locally.

The project is being funded by a grant that was awarded to the Council by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The money was made available as part of the DEFRA Air Quality Grant Scheme 2022-2023.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) will be running this project until 2026. Monitoring will take place over the next two burning seasons with monitoring starting December 2024 and finishing 30th April 2025 for this season. The second monitoring season will begin in Autumn 2025 and finish in 30th April 2026.

The survey will be open for completion from 2nd December 2024 until 31st January 2025. There will be another survey to follow in Autumn/Winter 2025-2026 to cover two burning seasons in total.

There will be 10 air quality monitors located in outdoor locations across West Northamptonshire that monitor Particulate Matter (PM) throughout the year. With the help of volunteers, there will also be 10 air quality monitors located inside premises around West Northamptonshire.

Dimensions (with solar panel) = 233 mm (W) x 176 mm (H) x 162 mm (D), about the size of a place mat.
A stock photograph of an outdoor monitor with a solar panel.
For indoor monitoring, the sensor will come as a standalone unit with a 3-pin household plug connection. A mount will also be provided to allow for appropriate and discrete installation.

Please complete the online survey. Your participation is appreciated. For anyone who completes the survey there is an optional prize draw to win a bespoke Better Burning Pack, that includes items such as a stove thermometer, stove fan, supply of fuel etc, up to the value of £100. To enter the prize draw you will need to provide basic contact details but we won't be able to see what you said in the survey.

There are 10 indoor air quality monitors available for installation. Please complete the section on the online survey which asks if you would be happy to take part in the research project. Once complete we will make contact with you if you are chosen.

If you do not hear from us, it is because the Council have already been able to allocate the monitors in other properties around West Northamptonshire. Thank you for taking the time to come forward, offer your help and for completing the questionnaire.

The survey is anonymous, and the Council has no way of identifying people who complete it. The survey does ask some more personal information, but this is to enable us to better understand socioeconomic demographic information. If you feel unwilling to answer some of the questions, then fill in the box “rather not say” and move to the next question. The information will be securely captured, analysed and a report produced. It will not be used for any other purposes other than for this solid fuel burning research project.

Some basic personal information will be required to be obtained by the Council if you wish to volunteer to have an air quality monitor installed.

If you do not wish to volunteer in the research project, that's ok. Please tick the relevant box and complete the remainder of the online survey.

Please complete the survey and tick the relevant box if you wish to be entered into the Free Prize Draw. The Council will ask for some basic contact details to enable us to get in contact with you if you are the winner. For the full terms and conditions, please read the competition rules.

A small amount of the government Grant money will be used to fund the prize to encourage participation in the survey. Information from the community is key to understanding the local situation.

No, you do not, simply complete the online survey and submit it. Thank you for participating. We value your opinion.

Help with completing this survey

Before starting the survey, please read the privacy policy and the competition rules.

Questions marked with an asterisk * are mandatory, so must be completed in order to submit your responses.

The survey should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and your progress can be tracked by the progress bar at the bottom of the page.

Please don't navigate away from the page, or use your browser's back button, before you have submitted your completed survey.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data.

All feedback is being collected on behalf of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

In accordance with our Privacy Policy, responses will be collected by Deetu (the data processor) and shared with WNC (the data controller) and third party professional advisors.

    Eligible respondents to this survey can opt-in at the end of the survey to a prize draw to win a Better Burning Bundle, worth £100. This is a bespoke Better Burning pack, that includes items such as a stove thermometer, stove fan or a supply of compliant fuel to assist with burning more efficiently.

    Please see below for competition terms and conditions.

  1. The promoter for this competition is Deetu, 5th Floor, Waterfront House, Nottingham, NG2 3DQ (the "Promoter").
  2. The competition will end at midnight on Friday 31st January 2025 (the “Closing Date”).
  3. There is no purchase necessary to enter this competition.

    4. Eligibility

  4. The competition is only open to Participants who are aged 18 or over and are a current resident of West Northamptonshire (the "Participants").
  5. Participants are not eligible if they are employees or elected members of the Promoter.
  6. Only one entry per household will be permitted.
  7. In entering the competition, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim the prize. The Promoter may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition, or to claim a prize.

    8. The prize

  8. The prize is a Better Burning Bundle, worth £100.
  9. The winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries and notified by email and phone within five working days of being selected.
  10. If the prize winner cannot be successfully contacted and does not accept their prize after five working days, they will forego the right to claim the prize and the Promoter may arrange for a replacement winning entry to be selected.
  11. The prize winner should allow 28 days for delivery of their prize.
  12. The prize is non-transferable, non-refundable, and non-changeable.
  13. The Promoter's decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding selection.
  14. The Promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the terms of this competition without notice due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
  15. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.
  16. By entering the competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by the Promoter or its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. Deetu is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. Personal data will be handled in line with our Privacy Notice.
  17. If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude any Participant from participating in the competition.
  18. The Promoter reserves the right to hold, deem void, suspend, cancel or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so. Incomplete, illegible or fraudulent entries may be considered void.
  19. The competition is governed by English Law and the English Courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising in connection with it.