Do we really need planning permission to remove a chimney stack?

[chimneystack]

We have a detached house, bought a couple of years ago.

The survey said that a chimney stack is leaning and that it could therefore let in damp. Recommended having it removed/rebuilt. Builder says that as it's a conservation area, the council would probably not give approval for it to be removed.

The chimney is in the middle/back of the house and is very hard to see from anywhere on the ground. You can't see it from the road and can just about see it if you go right into the flowerbed. It's not at all decorative or special. There is another prominent chimney stack elsewhere and that is staying.

Do I really need to bother with planning permission? Can I just get it taken down and assume no one will notice/care?

If you're in a conservation area someone will notice. Some people make it their life's work to monitor and report.

However, if the chimney isn't on a roof slope fronting a road, I doubt whether PP is required. You could try checking with the planning department although most require a formal application to determine these issues these days.

You will need planning permission, yes. However in our conversation area I don't think they'd have an issue with the removal, generally they only care about what can be seen from the street. So we have to have wooden sash windows at the front but can have uPVC at the back.

Interesting. Thanks for the swift replies. Sounds like it's worth asking. Although our planning department has a reputation for slowness of response.

We didn't need permission to remove our two stacks. We removed the entire thing, top to bottom, however we aren't in a conservation area so I don't know how much that changes things. We were doing a big project so had the planning officer out and building control did a few visits and neither one was bothered about the stacks.

Phone the Council up, explain your situation and see what they say.

It totally changes things if you're in a conservation area but, as others have said, it affects what can be seen from the front e.g. where we live, no satellite dishes at the front (in theory!)

Lived in a conservation area, I even had to get permission to have my apple tree pruned. I would not remove chimney stacks without permission!

Also consider how you will replace the ventilation that a chimney gives and make sure you aren't giving house a damp problem.

Agree with TheLurpackYears about potential damp. Why not get it rebuilt it won't take much longer and there will have to be scaffolding and dismantling whatever you decide?

Looks like it’s staying and being rebuilt. Thanks all!

If it's not visible from roàd just don't bother but be prepared to replace it if council complains