Chimney Repair - Rendering A Good Option?

Ok, I have a Victorian sanstone end of terrace house which is 2 storeys high then a full height roof, so it's fairly high.

I have noticed that the chimney is in a bit of a state. There is no pointing to be seen and the stonework is fairly worn. The chimney has 5 pots.

This needs dealt with before the winter kicks in. In my opinion at least

I had the rear elevation of the roof reslated last year and had one side of the chimney rendered (apparently the stonework wasn't in good enough condition to just be repointed), but without erecting more scaffolding round the side of the house they couldn't deal with the other side and I couldn't afford the extra cost of more scaffolding.

I'm now in a position financially, to get the guys back to do the other side, however, I'm in no position to have the chimney removed and rebuilt. Just no way I can afford that just now (or in the foreseeable future). So my only option is going to be to get the rest of it rendered to protect it for a few more years.

My question is, after that long babble, is, just how good a repair is render with some new mortar and flashing? Am I going to get a few years of protection with it or am I just wasting my money? As I say, after all the other work I've had done to the house (new roof, new boiler, damp proof course etc etc), a chimney rebuild is just out of the question for at least another year, but I cannot bring myself to leave it in the state its in, as it cannot be safe and can't be doing the rest of the house any good.

Thanks all.

P.S. A pic of the roof as it was getting done, you can see the chimney, if that helps

Hi. Render will seal the chimney along with a transparent sealer or good quality masonry paint, applied once render has cured. However will a rendered chimney look out of place?

Although it won't look the way it did, there are a fair few chimneys in the area which have had this treatment and as long as a reasonable dye has been used they don't look too out of place. At the end of the day I'd rather have one which looks slightly different than one which looks like it's going to come down on someones head any minute!