The short answer
Removing a chimney from an ordinary unlisted house may not need planning permission, but a listed building always needs listed building consent from B&NES Council first. In a conservation area, or where an Article 4 direction applies, extra controls can apply, and Bath's World Heritage status makes the council look closely at the roofline. Ask B&NES planning at the outset, because the rules depend on your property.
Two different permissions, often confused
Planning permission and listed building consent are not the same thing. B&NES Council says as much on its listed buildings page: they are separate consents, issued under separate rules, and you may need one, both or neither.
Planning permission deals with development: the use of land and alterations that change how a building looks or works. Many small changes to an ordinary house fall under permitted development rights, which allow certain work without a planning application. Listed building consent is about the special architectural and historic interest of a listed building. It covers alterations inside and out, including to a chimney, and it applies whether or not planning permission is needed.
This page gives no legal advice. It sets out the questions to settle before you take a scaffold up, and the right place to settle them is B&NES planning, whose development management team can tell you how the rules apply to your address.
If your house is listed
A stack is part of a listed building's historic roofline, and the council treats it as part of the building's character, whatever its condition. Removing or substantially altering one normally needs listed building consent before any work starts.
B&NES guidance is blunt on this: contact the council first when a listed building is involved, because work done without authority is an offence in law. Consent for taking a stack down is not something to count on, and applications are judged on the harm to the building weighed against any benefit. Repair is the route the council usually prefers, which is why we cover listed chimneys separately.
Even repair work to a listed stack can need consent if it changes the materials or appearance, for example by moving from lime to a different mortar or replacing stone with brick. Keep the repair like for like and ask first. The council's conservation team answers on 01225 394041 (Tuesday and Thursday) and by email at conservation_andplanning@bathnes.gov.uk.
Conservation areas and the World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site status covers the whole of Bath. The city-wide conservation area spans roughly half the city, so some houses sit inside it and some outside. Check your own address; do not assume.
Conservation area status adds controls over demolition and over changes affecting the area's character. A chimney on a street frontage forms part of the view along the terrace, which is one reason councils take an interest in stacks in these areas. Taking a stack down in a conservation area is a change to be raised with the council before you proceed, and in some circumstances it may need an application.
Some streets in Bath also have Article 4 directions, which withdraw some permitted development rights in special areas. B&NES gives porches, glazing, doors, paint and sheds as its examples, and roofs are not among them. That does not settle your street's position, so look at the council's Article 4 policy map or ask the planning team.
An ordinary house outside those controls
If your house is not listed, is outside a conservation area and has no Article 4 direction affecting it, the position is simpler. Taking down a chimney rarely needs a planning application of its own, though other rules may still apply. This is general information, not a guarantee, and local circumstances vary, so confirm with the council or through the Planning Portal before assuming nothing is needed.
Rules outside planning still apply. A chimney removed from a house has to leave the roof weathertight and structurally sound, and the work could come under Building Regulations. Our answer on Building Regulations for chimney removal deals with that side of the question. The chimney repairs hub has more on stack work.
Shared stacks are another thing to consider. A stack on a party wall serves both houses, and removing your side affects your neighbour. Tell them early and keep the conversation friendly. Many a dispute starts with scaffold appearing unannounced.
How to ask the council
The cleanest approach is to ask before you commit. Planning questions go to the development management team at development_management@bathnes.gov.uk. For a listed building, start with the conservation team. Describe the stack, say whether it is in use, and send photographs.
Photographs help a great deal. A clear set taken from the street, at roof level and in the loft lets the council see what is proposed, and it lets us give you a firm view of what removal involves. Our free survey includes photographs of the stack, and those give you what you need for that conversation.
You can also use the Planning Portal for general guidance on permitted development and how to apply, though it will not replace a word with your own council about a listed or conservation area property.
What happens if the answer is no
If the council will not agree to removal, the stack stays, and the useful question becomes how to keep it sound at reasonable cost. A stack you cannot remove can still be made quiet: the flue capped and ventilated, the flashings renewed in lead, the pointing redone in lime and the flaunching renewed. Those repairs stop the water that makes people want to remove a chimney in the first place.
If consent is granted, we plan the removal around the conditions. That may include matching the roof covering where the stack stood, keeping a decorative element, or reducing the stack to a set height rather than taking it away.
The decision guide on repairing or removing a chimney sets out the other half of the decision, and chimney flashing explains the lead repair that often resolves the original problem.
