Roofers in Easebourne

Easebourne is a large parish north and east of Midhurst, separated from the town by the River Rother. Its best-known buildings gather where the road reaches the gate of Cowdray Park. The Victoria County History of 1953 describes the church of St Mary, once also the priory church, with a tower of rubble and tiled roofs. It also records that considerable remains of the priory survive south of the church, including the 13th-century east range. The National Heritage List gives the church of St Mary a Grade I entry, and The Priory, now Priory Flats, a Grade I entry of its own. Roofs at that level of listing are not jobs for a quick patch. Every tile that goes back is a decision about the character of the building, and the survey has to be slow enough to respect that. We note the pitch of each slope, the state of the ridge and hips, the lead at every junction and the condition of the gutters and downpipes, and we report on the whole roof, not only the corner where the stain appeared.

1.1 Listed buildings and the consent you need

Listing changes the paperwork first. Once a building is listed, any work that alters its special character is a matter for listed building consent, and that applies to a roof as much as to a doorway. Small, regular upkeep and minor like for like repairs made in situ are another matter, and the South Downs National Park Authority says as much on its listed buildings page. We read the entry before we quote, photograph the roof from every safe angle, and tell you plainly which side of that line the work falls on. If the answer is consent, you hear it before a single tile is lifted.

1.2 Church roofs follow a different route

Where a parish church is still used for worship, the Church of England runs its own faculty system in place of the council's consent, and works go through that. The arrangement stops at the church door. It does not extend to a cottage a few hundred yards away, to a scheduled monument, or to a church that has closed. If you look after a church or hall roof in the parish, the diocesan advisers come first, and we will survey the roof and write up what we find so they have a clear picture to work from.

1.3 Tile on very old timbers

An old roof carries its history in the structure under the tiles. Rafters that have bowed over centuries, battens at slightly uneven spacing and walls that are not quite square all affect how a new tile sits. Relaying has to follow those lines, not force them straight. That is slower than hanging tiles on a modern frame, and it is also why a survey from inside the loft matters as much as one from the ladder.

Easebourne sits inside the South Downs National Park, in the part where Chichester District Council takes in applications on the Park Authority's behalf. The Authority remains the local planning authority for the village, and building control stays with the district council. So the first name on an application may be the district's, while the policy behind it is the Park's. If you are unsure which route applies to your roof, ask the Park Authority, or the planners at Chichester District Council, before any work is booked. A ten-minute call can save a month of delay, and it means the written quote we send afterwards describes work that the right authority has already heard about.

3.1 Conservation area and Article 4

The village has a conservation area, which the Park Authority shows on its Chichester conservation area maps. The Authority's Article 4 Directions page lists none for Easebourne, though directions can be made later, so a quick check before work is sensible. Inside a conservation area, some tree work needs notice, and a roof change that alters the look of a street needs more thought than one at the back of a house. We photograph the elevations the lane can see, so any proposal is easy to explain to the planners.

3.2 Roof windows, dormers and the Park

A National Park changes the planning picture for dormers and roof windows. It is worth settling before a loft plan goes any further, because it is far easier to ask before a design is drawn than after. Our guide to skylight planning permission covers the rules in plain words, and our surveyor will tell you at the first visit if a roof is simply too sensitive for the idea. The point of asking early is that nobody wastes money on drawings for something that cannot go ahead.

3.3 Scaffold licences and access near the park gate

Poles and boards on the public highway need a West Sussex County Council licence, which must be in hand at least 10 working days ahead, and the council's fee for one month of scaffolding is £266. Lanes near the park gate can be tight, so access is something we plan with you at the survey: where the poles stand, where materials are stacked, and how a neighbour gets past. Our pitched roofing page explains how a stripped slope is protected while it is open.