A Brighton chimney sweep has defended residents who use wood-burning stoves, arguing they should not be stigmatised for responsible heating choices.
Nicki Harvey told GB News that while concerns about air quality are valid, people shouldn not experience “stove stigma” or be shamed for using wood burners.
“Stigmatising somebody fixing it is a bad thing. That’s like stigmatising taking your car to the mechanic,” she said.
The “stove stigma” imposed by Brighton and Hove City Council has resulted in residents asking chimney sweeps to park “away from their homes”, to avoid neighbours knowing they have wood-burning stoves.
Chimney Sweep Nicki Harvey details the ‘stove stigma’ being experienced by Brighton residents
PA / GB News
The ‘Cosy Killer’ campaign was launched by the council late last year, to highlight the dangers of wood-burning stoves.
However, Brighton chimney sweep Rob Whittington argued that the residents are “doing a good thing” by having their chimneys swept regularly, which “helps reduce emissions and ensures safer operation”.
Speaking to GB News, Harvey argued that while wood burning in cities does contribute to poor air quality, overall emissions are at their lowest since records began in the 1970s.
She explained that domestic wood burning has decreased more slowly than emissions from cars or factories, leading to a higher percentage share rather than increased actual emissions.
Brighton and Hove’s ‘Cosy Killer’ campaign has sparked outrage among chimney sweeps
Brighton and Hove City Council
“If you use a modern stove, you service it, you use the right fuel, you use it responsibly, they are good sources of heat that are very sustainable,” Harvey told GB News.
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She highlighted additional benefits of wood-burning stoves, including energy security during grid overload.
Harvey explained: “It gives you energy security – if there’s overload on the grid, you have another source of heat.
“There’s also a recent report out about actually the mental health well-being benefits of a stove, and people tend to sit around and look at the stove rather than your phone, things like that. So there are very many benefits of having a wood burning stove.”
Harvey argued that the real issue is not wood burners specifically, but rather all wood burning.
“It’s not wood, it’s wood burning, as in the burning of all wood on things like open fires is bad, because that does create the fine particle pollution that causes lung problems,” she said.
Harvey told GB News that residents shouldn’t be stigmatised for using a ‘sustainable’ heat source
GB News
The council’s campaign warns that burning wood in homes produces more small-particle emissions than all road traffic in the UK.
Local chimney sweeps however have claimed that the campaign has created what they describe as an “adversarial” environment.
Brighton Councillor Tim Rowkins, the Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said in a statement: “This campaign is designed to highlight the dangers of using wood burners and open fires.
“I strongly believe most people burn at home, simply aren’t aware of the harm they’re doing. It’s important we make sure our residents are aware of the health risks and impacts.”