Chimney height approval

Apply for chimney height approval for business furnaces or boilers.

Who needs to apply for chimney height approval?

The Clean Air Act 1993 introduced new regulations which included the control of the height of chimneys.

Certain chimneys that serve industrial/business furnaces or boilers require approval from the Council before they are first used. This is to ensure that the proposed chimney is high enough to allow flue gases to disperse adequately into the atmosphere. 

Chimney height approval is required in addition to other permissions such as planning permission or building regulation approval.    

Approval is required for chimneys serving commercial or industrial furnaces/boilers used to burn:  

  • pulverised fuel 
  • any other solid matter at a rate of 45.4 kilograms per hour or more 
  • any liquid or gaseous matter at a rate of 366.4 kilowatts per hour or more 

Domestic properties

You do not need to apply for chimney height approval for domestic properties. 

Smoke from a domestic property chimney will only be investigated if it is causing a nuisance or an impact on others in the local area. 

Chimney height applications

There is no charge for a chimney height application.

Apply for chimney height approval in the Craven area

To apply please contact our environmental team.

An application for chimney height approval must contain enough information to allow the necessary calculations to be carried out.  

We will consider your application and provide a written decision within 28 days of receiving the application, unless it is agreed in writing between the Council and the applicant that a longer period is allowed. If we fail to deal with the application within this time period, then approval without qualification can be given.

Apply for chimney height approval in the Hambleton area

To apply please contact our environmental team.

Applications should be determined within four weeks unless further information is required during the application process. 

To establish the height of your proposed chimney you should refer to the ‘Third Edition of the Clean Air Act Memorandum on Chimney Heights.’ You may be required to include details of the calculation during application process.

Apply for chimney height approval in the Selby area

To apply please contact our environmental team.

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