Labour’s wood-burning stove crackdown is another attack on the countryside, writes Rachel Johnson |
By Rachel Johnson
Do I have a wood-burning stove? Yes.
And I have one because I live in the middle of what used to be called Exmoor Forest – the clue’s in the name. The wood is all around us.
There’s basically an infinite supply of this fuel, and the choice is either central heating or using the wood on the ground that we can cut and store ourselves, rather than getting a van to come from Minehead to fill our oil tank with fossil fuel and then burning that. And, by the way, we once had our oil tank drained by thieves – they’re not exactly going to come and steal our wood pile, so that’s a bonus.
My view is that it’s better for the environment to burn the wood that’s free and in infinite supply on our own farm than to order in kerosene. So yes, we have a wood burner. It’s in the main room in our Somerset house. I wouldn’t have one in London –........