Sham sham cher-ee! Homes built with fake chimneys

THE switch to green energy may be consigning log fires to history but it appears chimneys are a feature we just can’t cope without.

More than 100 properties on a 762-home development near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, are to be built with ‘false chimneys’ for decorative purposes.

A report on the Swinnow Park development to a recent Leeds City Council planning committee, which accepted the proposed appearance and layout, said the stacks would be used as a ‘design feature’ in a tree-lined section of the site known as The Avenue.

According to the report the area will have a rural appearance and chimneys were included on grounds of ‘building beautifully’.

The Avenue will also be unlit for ‘nature conservation purposes’.

The report read: ‘Officers consider that the use of chimneys... is acceptable and enhances the overall design of the dwellings.’