Timber is being more widely recognised and utilised as a construction material in the UK, a recent survey has revealed.

Södra Wood conducted a survey through 'Building' and 'Building Design' magazines, gaining insight from almost 350 architects, consultants, contractors and merchants.

They found 63% respondents believe timber is growing in popularity, while 69% of those questioned said they already worked with timber. A further 68.75% of participants also felt that timber can help meet government housebuilding and sustainability targets.

The benefits of timber were also ranked in order of importance, with sustainability topping the list, followed by efficiency, great aesthetics, versatility, cost-effectiveness and finally offsite capabilities.

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Nigel Buckley-Ryan, Sales Director, Merchants, at Södra Wood, commented: "As a timber business, we have been working hard to position the benefits of what wood can do for our construction industry - it's really rewarding to see so many people working with timber. We believe it can help meet many sustainability and housing targets in the UK, so I'm delighted to see recognition of that.

"Sustainability is something that we are very passionate about here at Södra, which is why for every tree we fell, we plant another three and operate according to a tree's natural lifecycle. It is welcoming to see that the UK construction industry is becoming more conscious of timber’s excellent sustainability credentials."

Jeremy English, Sales Director, Manufacturing, at Södra Wood, added: "While timber's popularity is clearly growing, there remains lots of opportunity for further development, especially in terms of timber's offsite capabilities, and cost and time efficiencies. The interesting thing about this survey is that it also shows that work still remains to be done to raise awareness around timber's benefits. We'll certainly continue to build its case and, as always, endeavour to drive the industry forward."

(CM/JG)