Planning permission - Removing a fireplace??

I am wall mounting a 42" plasma TV on the firebreast. I have taken down the fire surround and had a gas fitter remove the wall mounted gas fire and capped the gas pipe today.

I want to have the fireplace taken out and put up glass shelves in its place to put my sky receiver, DVD recorder etc... The opening requires widening slightly. I haven't checked the size of the lintel currently in place and am aware this may require replacing with a longer one.

Do I require planning permission of any kind before this is done?

I may add, I do not intend doing the work myself as I would probably bring half the house down

Thanks for your advice in advance!

Are you taking out the entire stack? (above roof) if not then you probably just need building regs

Yup I believe Building regs are all you need for this...

About 10 years ago I moved our fireplace to the left slightly, so it just meant some basic re-routing of the chimney stack....at the time I didn't bother with building regs though.

If you want to be extra safe just contact your local building control office or send them a brief outline of what you plan.