Timber Development UK

🏆 We won! 🏆

TDUK’s Wood Campus online learning platform has been named winner of the TTJ Timber Innovation Prize 2026 at this year’s TTJ Awards.

Wood Campus was launched to make high-quality, practical timber training accessible to people right across the supply chain. Since then, more than 800 people have registered, over 2,000 courses have been completed and the platform has grown to offer more than 70 courses.

Our ambition is for Wood Campus to become the natural home for timber education in the UK, raising knowledge and skills across the sector. Thank you to Timber Trades Journal and everyone who has been part of the journey so far!

You can read more about the award and what comes next for Wood Campus at:

TDUK’s Wood Campus wins TTJ Timber Innovation Prize 2026 : Timber Development UK Timber Development UK (TDUK) Wood Campus online learning platform was named winner of the TTJ Timber Innovation Prize 2026 at the TTJ Awards.

Are you EU ready?

With the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) bringing new requirements for businesses across the timber supply chain, understanding exactly what it means for you, your customers and your day-to-day operations is becoming increasingly important.

If you'd like to learn more, join the North West Timber Trade Association (NWTTA) and Timber Development UK (TDUK) in Liverpool on Tuesday 13 October for ‘Are you EU Ready? Everything you need to know about the EUDR but were afraid to ask!’

TDUK's Supply Chain Compliance Manager Darren Mayes will cut through the technical detail and provide a practical guide to the forthcoming EUDR requirements, explaining who the rules apply to, the different roles and responsibilities across the supply chain, and what businesses need to be thinking about now.

The session will look at what compliance could mean in practice, from manpower and client questions through to potential cost implications, alongside a five-step guide to putting the right processes in place. There will be an update on UK regulatory requirements, TDUK events and services, third-party EUDR services and clarification around supply to and from Northern Ireland.

📅 Tuesday 13 October 2026
📍 Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre
⏰ Registration is from 9.30am, with sessions from 10am and a networking buffet lunch at 12.30pm
NWTTA members can attend free of charge, with non-member places available for £45 + VAT per person.

👉 You can find out more and register at:
https://tdukregions.uk/event/nwtta-are-you-eu-ready-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-eudr-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

UK timber and panel product imports remained below last year’s levels during the first half of 2026, with weaker softwood and plywood volumes weighing on the market, according to the latest statistics from Timber Development UK.

The combined volume of the UK’s main timber and panel product imports was 3.9% lower in H1 2026 than during the same period in 2025. Solid wood imports fell by 4.7%, while panel product imports were 2.5% lower. After a poor start to the year, import volumes improved during March and April, with April volumes sitting 4% higher than a year earlier. This improvement was short-lived, however, with volumes falling 8% year-on-year in May and 3% in June.

Softwood, which accounts for more than 60% of all timber and panel imports, was a major contributor to the overall decline. Import volumes fell 4.9% to 2.898 million m³ during the first six months of the year.

Meanwhile, hardwood imports were 1.5% lower than H1 2025, reflecting weaker volumes of temperate and mixed hardwoods. Tropical hardwood moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 3.5%. The largest falls were seen in plywood. Total plywood import volumes were 13.6% lower, with hardwood plywood down 7.4% and softwood plywood falling 28.8%.

👉 Read the full report at

UK timber imports remain subdued in H1 2026 : Timber Development UK UK timber and panel product imports remained below last year’s levels during the first half of 2026, with weaker softwood and plywood volumes weighing on the market, according to the latest statistics from Timber Development UK (TDUK).

We're proud to have been shortlisted for the 'Timber Innovation' prize at the upcoming Timber Trades Journal (TTJ) awards for Wood Campus!

Wood Campus is an online learning platform that we created specifically for the timber industry, in collaboration with Swedish Wood. It is designed to help users improve their skills, product knowledge and professional competence right across the timber supply chain, and we're thrilled that it has been shortlisted.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone on 18 September and celebrating with all the other finalists!

📃 The latest Construction Products Association (CPA) Summer Forecast is now online and available for TDUK members.

🪵 The forecast points to a challenging period ahead, with UK construction output forecast to fall by 2.5% in 2026 following weaker demand and rising cost pressures. Two of timber's key markets are expected to be among the hardest hit, with private housing output forecast to decline by 7% and private housing repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I) by 8%. This report is a major downward revision from the CPA's previous forecast.

🔗 If you're a TDUK member, you can log in to the Members' Area to access the full forecast and explore what these trends could mean for your business.

👉 Read it here:

Construction activity to fall significantly in 2026 : Timber Development UK The CPA’s forecast for construction output has been downgraded further in its Summer forecast, published today, due to the lagged impacts of the Middle East conflict that are starting to pass through to both the demand and cost sides of the UK economy.

A new TradeNote from Timber Development UK is setting out what members need to know about the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which came into force in February 2025 and will be applied to shipments arriving at the EU border from 12 August 2026.

PPWR requires all businesses placing packaged goods on the EU market to ensure packaging is recyclable, minimally wasteful, contains mandatory recycled plastic, and eliminates restricted substances (e.g. heavy metals and PFAS).

The regulation does not apply to imports arriving in Great Britain but will apply, at least in part, to goods arriving in Northern Ireland. If you are selling packaged products to the EU (including Ireland) you will have obligations under PPWR as an exporter.

The regulation applies to all three types of packaging: sales (primary), grouped (secondary), and transport (tertiary) packaging, and to both commercial and consumer focused packing, but requirements will vary by type and depending on where companies sit in the supply chain.

👉 Read more at:

New TDUK Trade Note explains Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation changes : Timber Development UK A new Trade Note from Timber Development UK is setting out what members need to know about the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which came into force in February 2025 and will be applied to shipments arriving at the EU border from 12 August 2026.

Timber Development UK has announced that long-standing Chairman Chris Sutton has stepped down from his position. Vice Chair Patrick Guest has now taken on the new role of Executive Chair.

The changes became effective from 1 July, 2026 following the Governing Board meeting of 18 June.

Chris Sutton, former Managing Director of James Latham, had held the position of Chair since 2021 and taken a leading role in helping form TDUK from the merger of Timber Trade Federation and TRADA.

Mr Sutton will continue to work with TDUK as an Ambassador for the trade during the coming years.

Patrick Guest, whose timber career includes director positions at Arnold Laver, NTG and Saint-Gobain, has now taken on the position of Executive Chair.

This is a new role involving the Board Governance functions of the Chair as well as supporting the CEO and Executive Team in delivery of TDUK objectives.

👉 Read more at:

Timber Development UK appoints new Executive Chair : Timber Development UK Timber Development UK (TDUK) has announced that long-standing Chairman Chris Sutton has stepped down from his position. Vice Chair Patrick Guest has now taken on the new role of Executive Chair.

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.