Leeds: Victorian chimney to be reduced in height amid safety fears

Plans to reduce the chimney height from 98ft (30m) 78ft (24m) were approved at a meeting on Thursday

A chimney at an old mill in Leeds is to be reduced in height amid fears the top could fall and kill a passer-by.

The chimney, at Stonebridge Mills in Farnley, is more than 150 years old and is viewed "as a significant local landmark", according to campaigners.

The Grade II-listed mill building is being redeveloped into homes as part of a £25m scheme.

Developers will reduce the height of the 98ft (30m) chimney by 19ft (6m) after the top was deemed to be unsafe.

'Sore point'

Leeds Civic Trust was among a number of groups and individuals to object to the move at a Leeds City Council planning meeting on Thursday.

Local Green Party councillor David Blackburn also opposed the plan, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We're talking about a chimney, but it's a chimney of significant importance," he told the meeting.

"I support this development - I went along to see it recently and it's coming on well. But it's a sore point is this," he said.

However, Jeremy Tetley, who was involved in the assessment, told the meeting the chimney was "severely damaged" and cracked on four sides, and needed to be removed "on the grounds of public safety".

"It may have stood for 150 years but it doesn't now sit in accordance with current building standards," he said.

The plan was to reduce the height of the chimney by 19ft (6m) in order to "maintain what we can of it", he added.

Labour councillor Neil Walshaw, who was one of a panel to support the proposal, said: "Multiple different sources of engineering expertise have come to the conclusion that the most reasonable course of action, to maintain the heritage, is the approach that's been set out.

"A considerable number of people are going to be living round this tower and I don't think they want the chimney accelerating to meet them at 10 metres per second," he added.