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Fitting a stove in a former pit town
Ashington was built on coal. The Ashington Coal Company laid out long, parallel rows of colliery houses on a grid, and many of those streets still form the heart of the town, with the numbered avenues to the south and the tree-named streets of Hirst east of the railway. From the 1920s onwards came council semis, then the larger estates of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
For a stove installer, this means two very common starting points: an older terrace that once had a coal fire in nearly every room, and a newer house that was never built with a chimney. We plan each one differently, and in Ashington the local smoke control rules shape the choice of stove from the outset.
The smoke control question comes first
This is the most important local point. Northumberland County Council lists the whole of the former Wansbeck District as a smoke control area, and Ashington sits within that district. In a smoke control area you can only burn wood or other unauthorised fuels in a Defra-exempt appliance, and only the fuels the manufacturer approves. Otherwise you must use authorised smokeless fuels.
In practice, that shapes the stove we recommend. If you want to burn logs, we will propose a Defra-exempt model. Councils can now issue civil penalties for excess smoke from chimneys in smoke control areas, so getting this right matters. Please check your own address on the council's smoke control map, and read our guide to how smoke control areas work.
Wood, multi-fuel or a straight swap?
- Wood-burning stoves. A good fit if you have space to store seasoned logs. Wood sold in small quantities must be certified Ready to Burn, which helps buyers find dry fuel. Learn more about our wood-burning stove installations.
- Multi-fuel stoves. Popular in Ashington, partly because many households are used to burning solid fuel. A multi-fuel stove can take approved smokeless fuel as well as wood. Our wood versus multi-fuel comparison sets out the differences.
- Replacing an old fire or stove. Many homes still have an old open fire, back boiler or tired stove. Traditional house coal can no longer be sold in England, so an older appliance may need replacing with an Ecodesign stove that burns current fuels cleanly.
Colliery terraces and shared chimney stacks
Colliery-row houses were usually built with chimney stacks shared along the ridge between neighbours, with several flues running side by side in one stack. After decades of coal burning, those flues are often in poor shape inside, even if the stack looks fine from the street.
The usual solution is a stainless steel flexible flue liner, which gives your stove its own sealed flue inside the old one. Before lining, we check:
- the condition of the stack, pots and flaunching on the roof,
- which flue belongs to your fireplace, as these can wander in shared stacks,
- whether a smoke test shows leakage into a neighbouring flue or loft,
- the state of the fireplace opening and hearth.
Some older homes had their chimney breasts removed or stacks taken down during modernisation. Where that has happened, a twin-wall flue may be the better route.
Newer homes without a chimney
Much of Ashington's later housing, including many estates on the edges of town, was built without a chimney. A twin-wall insulated flue can run up an external wall or through the house and roof. It is a well-established method, and our guide to fitting a wood burner without a chimney explains the options.
How the process works
- Enquiry: tell us about your house and the room you want heated.
- Survey: we check the chimney or flue route, hearth, ventilation and smoke control status.
- Recommendation: a stove, flue and fuel plan to suit your home.
- Written quote: itemised and fixed before any work begins.
- Installation: the liner or flue, hearth, stove and a carbon monoxide alarm, which is required in England when a new or replacement fixed solid fuel appliance is installed.
- Handover and certification: we show you how to run the stove, and the work is certified through a competent person scheme such as HETAS, or signed off by Building Control under Approved Document J.
Ask for a free Ashington quote
Whether you live in a terrace near the town centre, a semi in Hirst or a newer home towards Woodhorn or North Seaton, we can talk you through what will work and what the rules allow. Every home is different, so the first step is a survey and a written quote. Send us your details and we will arrange a convenient time to visit.
