Battle over chimney removal from historic Berkshire cottage

Summarised from Reading Chronicle's report · Updated 5 Nov, 22:04 · Archive

A homeowner in Berkshire removed a chimney from a 17th-century cottage without planning permission, citing safety concerns.

The owner of one of the Forge Close cottages in Kintbury, a village south of the River Kennet between Newbury and Hungerford, removed a chimney stack without obtaining planning permission from West Berkshire Council. The homeowner claimed the chimney was leaning and had been deemed unsafe.

A planning officer rejected a retrospective application to confirm the works on 11 September, stating that the removal had resulted in the loss of historic fabric and visually changed the listed building. The officer noted that chimney stacks contribute to understanding how the building evolved into separate cottages and are important characteristics of the Kintbury Conservation Area.

The homeowner has since lodged an appeal against the decision with the government's planning inspectorate. The dispute can be tracked using reference 6018187 on the planning inspectorate website.

Read the report

• Battle set over chimney being removed from historic cottage in Berkshire villageA battle is set over a chimney being removed from a historic cottage in a village in Berkshire.Reading Chronicle · 5 Nov, 16:00

In this story: Kintbury · Berkshire · West Berkshire Council · Forge Close

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log