Danger mill chimney to be made safe

A DANGEROUS mill chimney in Sowerby Bridge is set to be made safe.

Members of Calderdale Council’s cabinet have agreed to fund urgent safety work on the 165ft high Grade II Listed mill chimney in Corporation Street.

Cabinet member for the economy and environment Coun Barry Collins said there was no alternative amid fears that it poses a danger to nearby properties.

The cost of the work is to be funded from council reserves as, despite extensive efforts by the authority, the owner of the chimney – believed to be a man called Adrian Hulme – has yet to be traced.

Routine monitoring last December revealed that the condition of the chimney had deteriorated. Scaffolding was erected, preventing masonry from the crown falling to the ground. In June, the terminal cone was also removed and additional bracing installed.

One option was to dismantle the whole structure at an estimated cost of 90,000.

Inspections earlier this month revealed that the deterioration is continuing. Movement in the crown is now exerting such force that the scaffold tubes around it are beginning to bend.

Coun Collins said: “The chimney is a dangerous structure and, despite the cost, the council needs to take down a substantial section in order to make it safe.”

Council leader Janet Battye added: “The council’s first priority is the safety of the public and we need to make this structure safe as soon as possible.”

Before Christmas last year, the council served health and safety notices on nearby property owners, warning them of the dangers and fenced off part of the Rochdale Canal towpath.