Does a commercial re-roof need planning permission?

Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 excludes from the definition of development any alteration that does not change how the exterior reads. Stripping a worn covering and laying the same product back, in the same colour, profile and height, sits on the safe side of that line. So does a repair that restores the roof to how it looked.

The words that matter are materially and exterior. A different material, a visible change of colour, new rooflights across a slope, a taller parapet or plant that shows from the road can each alter the look of the building. Where there is doubt, email the council's planning team before any materials are ordered, so the answer is on record. Their reply carries more weight than any roofer's opinion, and asking costs nothing.

Householders sometimes quote permitted development for roofs. That is a house rule. The roof class in the General Permitted Development Order is written for a dwellinghouse, so it does not settle the position for a shop, unit or church hall, and the definition leaves out any building containing flats.

Listed buildings come first. Section 7 of the 1990 listed buildings Act forbids unauthorised works to a listed building when they alter its character, which means its architectural or historic interest. A new covering on a listed roof is seldom a trivial matter. The South Downs National Park Authority keeps regular maintenance and minor mending in situ, to match what exists, clear of listed building consent, and that shows how narrow the exception is.

Conservation areas bring extra scrutiny of anything visible from the street, and some carry Article 4 directions that withdraw rights otherwise available. The Arun directions we found take away no roof rights. Directions in Havant and Portsmouth do, for particular streets. In the Chichester District Council area, ask the council what applies to your street.

Churches follow a different set of rules again, explained in our answer on church roof repairs. Before any application, photograph the existing roof from several angles so the council can see exactly what is changing.

A good deal of land north of Bognor lies inside the South Downs National Park, and the building's position decides who takes the application. Inside the Arun, Horsham, Adur and Worthing parts of the Park, the Authority decides planning matters itself. Inside the Chichester and East Hampshire parts, applications go to the district council, which acts for the Authority. Building control remains with the district council wherever the building stands.

On 4 February 1964 Chichester Harbour was designated for its natural beauty, and in 2023 it became a National Landscape. If your building is near Bosham, Fishbourne or Emsworth, ask the council whether the designation changes anything for a commercial roof.

For any building in these places, the simplest route is a brief email to the planning officer. Send a photograph, name the covering on the roof now and the one going on, and ask whether an application is needed. File the answer with the job paperwork, because a landlord, a lender or a buyer may ask for it years later.

A job with no planning requirement can still need Building Regulations approval, and the reverse can also be true. The Planning Portal lists the triggers for houses: a covering whose fire behaviour differs significantly from what it replaces, 15 per cent or more of extra load on the roof, or any structural alteration. An insulation upgrade can follow as well.

Those thresholds were written for homes. For a commercial roof, your registered building control approver or the council's building control team gives the answer for your building, and our guide to commercial re-roofing and Building Regulations sets out the points to raise with them.

Over-roofing, where a fresh layer goes on top of the old covering, changes the weight and can change the fire position, so read our guide to over-roofing before settling on that route. A survey before the specification is fixed lets you ask the right questions of the right body at the right time.

Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a licence if scaffolding will obstruct the highway, so check who will apply and when. West Sussex asks for 10 working days of notice and charges £266 for a month. Hampshire asks for 10 clear working days and charges £211.90 for the first 2 weeks. Our note on the scaffold licence in West Sussex has the detail. Build the wait into the programme.

Bats have legal protection, and roof work appears on the list of activities that can disturb them. Our page on bats and roof work is worth reading before an older building is stripped.

Tenants should read the lease as well, since a landlord will usually need to approve work to the structure regardless of the planning position. Our commercial roofing survey records what is on the roof now, in photographs, which helps when you write to the council or to the landlord.