A Victorian chimney atop an old mill in Leeds is to be taken down, amid fears it could fall and kill a passer-by.
The chimney at Stonebridge Mills in Farnley is more that 150 years old and is viewed as a “significant local landmark”.
Assurances had been made that the 10m chimney would be retained, but it was later seen to be unsafe.
Jeremy Tetley who was involved in the assessment has said the chimney was “severely damaged” and cracked on four sides, and needs 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”.
The plan was to reduce the height of the chimney to 4m in order to “maintain what we can of it” Jeremy added.
Conservative councilor Trish Smith has said “every opportunity” should be explored before a final decision is made.
Read the full story here
