As you may be aware, renovations have been taking place on the Old Market Chimneys for the past six months.

On Wednesday the 8th of March 2023 we received reports that part of the external wall in the market had collapsed, this then meant that the chimney stack above the location was in an unstable condition.

Dartmouth Town Council Officers were quick on the scene and the following protocol was carried out:

• Wall collapsed at approximately 13.30 on the 8th of March 2023
• By 14.00, an emergency Highways Officer was on-site, and a structural engineer was en-route
• By 15.00, Charles Street was closed by the Highways Officer and the area was fenced off for safety
• By the following morning (9th March) a crash deck and scaffolding were installed
• A Devon County Council Building Control Officer attended the site along with a structural engineer who recommended removal of the chimney stack on health and safety grounds
• Building Control confirmed they agreed the recommendation of removal of the chimney stack on the grounds of health and safety
• Tuesday the 14th of March 2023 the first chimney stack was removed, all materials from the chimney were kept for rebuild at a later date
• The wall under the initial chimney stack was repaired along with the roof while awaiting retrospective planning permissions
• The roof was made watertight for market traders and for the summer to open as normal
• Communication with South Hams District Council and other relevant authorities continued throughout the process to ensure compliance and address the situation appropriately

The next steps was then for the Council to appoint a structural engineer to survey the remaining chimney stacks to determine whether this was an isolated incident or whether there were other structurally compromised chimneys that could pose a health and safety risk to the public.

The structural engineers report came back highlighting the full extent of the structural issues to the remaining chimney stacks and their risk to health and safety.

Unfortunately, Dartmouth Town Council was advised that all remaining stacks be taken down due to the viability of the walls supporting them and the knowledge of the original collapse and catastrophic failure.

When consulting with English Heritage after the findings they informed us that the chimneys needed to be put back up due to their historical importance to the building. This left Dartmouth Town Council with no choice but to comply.

The next step was to gain quotes from contractors to carry out the work, the gained quotes were then taken before Council for discussion and to choose a direction to go in. Council agreed a company to go with and the green light was given to go ahead with the restoration work.

Dartmouth Town Council communicated a schedule for the work with tenants of the market unit to ensure as little disruption as possible to their day-to-day activities. The company then proceeded with the work which took six months to complete.

Dartmouth Town Council is pleased with the minimal disruption that the work caused considering the location and are overall happy with the quality. We are currently awaiting sign off by English Heritage.

Dartmouth Town Council have just received confirmation of a case closed decision regarding an alleged unauthorised removal of chimneys, the following was stated:

Following enquiries being carried out into the above alleged breach of Planning Control, one of the Council’s specialist Heritage Officers, Richard Gage, has been in contact with Dartmouth Town Council and their representatives regarding the reinstatement of the chimneys at the market in Dartmouth. Following this liaison, works have now been carried out to reinstate the chimneys, these works have also now been signed off by Richard Gage.

As such, there is no longer any breach of Planning Control present. I will now be closing this Enforcement case with no further action being taken.

To read the full survey, along with the costings, scheme of delegation and a Q and A with Councillor Kim Sturgess regarding the chimney renovations please see the additional documentation. If you require any further information then please do get in touch with us on hello@dartmouthtowncouncil.gov.uk