A recent investigation by the ShepwayVox team has revealed that Hythe—one of the Green Party’s strongholds in Folkestone & Hythe District—has the highest residential density of wood-burning stoves in the entire district. Using University College London data, the analysis showed 131.3 appliances per km² and that 22.5% of homes in the town are estimated to use a wood-burning stove or fireplace.
This places Hythe at the top of the district’s pollution table for residential solid fuel use, raising serious questions about the coherence of Green Party environmental policy in the area. While the party has long campaigned on climate change, net zero, and clean energy, the prevalence of wood-burning—a major source of PM2.5 particulate pollution—suggests a significant blind spot when it comes to protecting public health from harmful domestic emissions.
Council Response: PM2.5 “Difficult to Measure”
In a recent question submitted by Cllr Tony Hills, concerns were raised about air quality across the district and how Folkestone & Hythe compares to other areas. The written response from Cllr Stephen Scoffham, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Biodiversity (Green Party), sought to reassure the public:
“The council conducts air quality monitoring at nineteen locations across the district… Each site is monitoring for nitrogen dioxide [NO₂]… Results at the original eighteen testing locations have improved and the district continues to have no requirement to set up an Air Quality Management Area.”
However, Cllr Scoffham’s – pictured – response also made clear that PM2.5 and PM10—fine particulate matter responsible for some of the most damaging health effects—are not directly monitored. Instead, the council assumes that if NO₂ levels are falling, PM2.5 must also be under control.
He continued:
“PM2.5 is caused by numerous combustion processes… Isolating individual contributors, for example, a relatively small number of properties with wood burners, is extremely difficult… Proper scientific testing units are costly, static, difficult to deploy… The council responds on the basis that PM2.5 is present, it is a risk, and… needs to be reduced.”
But critics argue this logic is dangerously circular. By choosing not to monitor PM2.5 directly, the council avoids ever having to declare a problem. Meanwhile, pollution from wood burners and traffic continues largely unchecked—especially in areas like Hythe, where stove ownership is widespread.
Science Sharpens the Case: Dementia and Dirty Air
The policy gap is particularly troubling given the mounting body of scientific evidence connecting air pollution with serious long-term health conditions.
A major meta-analysis published in The Lancet in April 2024 and reported in Air Quality News has found a statistically significant link between exposure to fine particulate matter and dementia. Reviewing 21 studies involving more than 24 million people, researchers found an 8% increased risk of dementia for every 5 µg/m³ rise in PM2.5 exposure. The findings were so compelling that the UK Government’s Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) issued a new statement acknowledging PM2.5 as a credible risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
This is on top of the already established connections between PM2.5 exposure and heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, asthma, and premature death. Even so-called “eco-stoves” are no safe alternative: studies show a modern DEFRA-approved wood stove can emit the same amount of PM2.5 as 18 diesel cars per hour.
Green Rhetoric vs Green Reality
The apparent inconsistency between Green Party campaigning and Green-led cabinet decisions is stark.
On the one hand, Green councillors have repeatedly warned of catastrophic environmental risks should soil layers at the former Princes Parade site be disturbed—citing the possible release of pollutants into the air. Yet, in their own backyard in Hythe, the daily use of domestic wood burners—actively emitting dangerous particulates into the atmosphere—is not being tackled with the same urgency.
Nor is the issue confined to stoves. Despite the acknowledged health risks of PM10 and PM2.5 from traffic emissions, the council has no dedicated monitoring stations for particulates along major roadways. The emphasis on nitrogen dioxide as a proxy for overall air quality falls short of what is now widely accepted best practice.
Public Health at Risk—And Still No Action
The Green Party has staked its reputation on being the party of science, evidence, and precaution. Yet when that same science makes clear that wood smoke and particulate pollution are harming the very residents they serve, the policy response is non-existent.
If particulate pollution increases dementia risk, exacerbates asthma, and shortens lives, then the burden of proof shifts onto those in power to act. Instead, the cabinet member for the environment appears content to cite cost, complexity, and convenience as barriers to taking meaningful measurements—never mind meaningful action.
A Moral and Political Failure
Residents in Hythe, Dymchurch, and across the district deserve policies based on consistent science and a genuine commitment to health and sustainability. Selective environmentalism—where traffic and climate change matter, but domestic air pollution is quietly ignored—risks undermining public trust in both the Green Party and the council as a whole.
If the Green-led administration cannot take airborne health risks seriously in its own most loyal wards, how can it claim to lead on climate and clean air?
If you have a story then contact us at TheShepwayVoxTeam@proton.me in confidence
The Shepway Vox Team
The Velvet Voices of Voxatiousness
