Timber Development UK

A pioneering research initiative has demonstrated that England’s underused deciduous broadleaf forests could play a transformative role in delivering low-carbon buildings, supporting biodiversity, and strengthening domestic supply chains.

The three-year Building from England’s Woodlands (BFEW) project, funded by the Forestry Commission’s Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund, brought together leading experts from forestry, wood science, timber manufacturing, architecture, and construction to explore how English-grown timber can be used more effectively in modern building systems.

Led by the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), and including Edinburgh Napier University, Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), Ecosystems Technologies Ltd, and dRMM Architects, the project concluded that, when appropriately selected and specified, English hardwoods can play a significant role in structural applications.

The findings challenge longstanding perceptions about the suitability of homegrown timber for construction. A key innovation emerging from the research is the development of hybrid engineered timber products that optimally combines hardwood and softwood within the same structural element.

👉 Read more at:

Building from England’s Woodlands Project : Timber Development UK Building from England’s Woodlands Project Demonstrates Major Potential for Homegrown Timber in Sustainable Construction

⏰ What are you doing this Wednesday lunchtime? Don't miss out on our free webinar on the award-winning Armadillo structure at 1pm, 8th July.

🪵 The Armadillo is an innovative outdoor pavilion. It's a pioneering project in acoustic design and advanced timber construction.

👂We'll hear from project architects Theo Games Petrohilos, Ben Hayes & Kaowen Ho (Unknown Works), timber specialist subcontractor Jim Johnstone (ConstruktCLT) and CLT supplier Sen Perez (Xilonor CLT). They'll talk us through the design and delivery of this highly innovative project.

🌲 It's built from a newly engineered hybrid combination of eucalyptus and pine CLT - in which the eucalyptus has been incorporated as an integrated layer.

🪛 The curved pavilion has been engineered to be relocatable. The distinctive sculptural form optimises natural acoustic amplification with individually angled CLT panels oriented to project sound outwards.

👩‍🎓 Learn all about the connections, the assembly, and the R&D that went into this striking structure. Go to the link in the bio to reserve your free place - there's no better way to spend a Wednesday lunchtime! See you there - bring all your best technical and design questions!

Confidence is proving to be one of the biggest influences on the UK timber market right now. While the long-term need for new homes and low-carbon construction remains clear, businesses are continuing to navigate the challenges of rising costs, economic uncertainty and delayed investment decisions.

To help members make sense of these changing conditions, Timber Development UK has published its first-ever Market Briefing.

The report brings together the latest market data, economic analysis and insight from businesses across the timber supply chain, exploring housing and construction activity, timber imports, business costs, skills challenges and the opportunities that continue to support timber's long-term future.

👉 You can read the full briefing here:

Confidence and rising costs remain challenging, says first-ever TDUK Market Briefing : Timber Development UK Timber Development UK (TDUK) has published its first-ever Market Briefing, bringing together economic analysis, market data and insight from businesses across the supply chain to provide a detailed picture of the issues shaping the timber industry during the first half of 2026.

🏘️ How can timber help us rethink housebuilding at the scale we need?

As the UK seeks to meet ambitious housing targets while responding to the climate crisis, this UK Timber Design Conference session will bring together architects, community-led developers and industry leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges of delivering timber-first housing at scale.

Through project insights, development experience and discussion of the political, regulatory and financial barriers facing the sector, our panellists will consider practical steps to accelerating adoption of timber housing across the UK and unlocking a more sustainable model of residential delivery.

Featuring lessons from Mikhail Riches’ City of York housing programme, Bell Phillips’ research into bio-based low-rise housing and TOWN’s pioneering timber MMC developments, the session will ask a simple question: if we already have proven, successful examples, why haven't they become the norm?

🎙️ Speakers:
🔸 James Turner, Associate Director, Mikhail Riches
🔹 Jay Morton, Director,
🔸 Neil Murphy, Director, .are.town

🎫 Get your ticket at our events page
🗓️ Thursday 2 July 2026
🕰️ 12:20 - 13:15
📍 One Birdcage Walk, London