Roofers in Aldermaston
A wide village street running up to the Park gates
Aldermaston has 34 listed buildings within a short walk of its centre and a conservation area close to the centre. We survey each roof before anyone talks about price.
Aldermaston roofs, from the Street to Fisherman's Lane
Listed cottages and terraces
Fisherman's Lane, Meadow Cottages and the Street hold several Grade II entries, where consent shapes every change to the roof.
Brick and half-timber houses
The 1923 Victoria County History described houses of brick or brick and half-timber under tiled roofs along the street.
The Hind's Head inn
A 17th-century brick inn at the foot of the street, with a small wooden bell-turret over its central gable.
Aldermaston between the Kennet and the Hampshire border
Woolhampton lies to the north-west and Beenham to the north. Tadley and Baughurst are to the south, Pamber Heath and Silchester to the south-east, and Mortimer to the east.
- Distance
- 20.8 road miles north-east of Andover
- Planning
- West Berkshire Council
- Council
- West Berkshire Council (unitary)
The Aldermaston roof report
Local editionAldermaston, BerkshireWest Berkshire rules and a listed village street
West Berkshire rules: how an Aldermaston roof is approved and what its old street asks
Aldermaston is 20.8 road miles from Andover but in another county and another council area. This report covers who rules on a roof here, what 34 listed buildings change, and how the West Berkshire scaffold licence is priced.
One council for planning and the road
Aldermaston is in Berkshire, and West Berkshire Council is a unitary authority, which means a single council does the work that Hampshire splits between a borough and a county. West Berkshire Council takes the planning decisions for a roof here and also holds the highway for the road outside, so there is no second office to consult about a scaffold. At the 2021 Census the parish had 1,112 usual residents.
Building control comes from Building Control Solutions, the partnership in which West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council deliver the service together. The BCS website describes itself as your local authority building control service in Berkshire, and it takes enquiries on 0300 790 0580. That is a different body from the one an Andover address uses, so a quote that borrows a Hampshire assumption can be wrong from the first step.
For a re-roof the yardstick comes from the Planning Portal. Where under 25 per cent of the building envelope, and under 50 per cent of the roof, is affected, no building control application is normally needed. Weight is the exception. A new covering that adds 15 per cent or more to the load needs approval, and an engineer or surveyor should check the structure first. No council in the area publishes a percentage of its own, so the national test applies, and BCS is asked about anything near a line.
You can also use a registered building control approver instead of BCS, a private route regulated under the regime in force since 6 April 2024. Whichever you choose, the question is answered before any scaffold is ordered, and the reply goes in writing beside the photographs from the survey. A homeowner then holds one folder: what we found, what the authorities said and what the work will cost.
When two neighbours need work on the same terrace or the same row of cottages, we mention it at the survey, and where a shared scaffold would serve both we raise it with each owner, because one licence and one erection cost less than two.
Planning questions go to West Berkshire Council. Whether an Article 4 direction applies to an Aldermaston address is for the council to confirm, and the conservation area near the village centre makes the question worth asking early. We raise it at the survey, so a quote never has to be revised after the first conversation with a planning officer.
A wide street, a bell-turret and a rebuilt Court
In 1923 the Victoria County History described Aldermaston as a wide street sloping up to the gates of Aldermaston Park, lined with houses of brick or brick and half-timber under tiled roofs. It singled out the Hind's Head at the bottom of the street, a 17th-century two-storey brick inn with a small wooden bell-turret over its central gable. The old mansion of Aldermaston Court burnt in 1843 and was replaced in 1849 by a house designed by Hardwick, which kept an early 17th-century carved staircase from the old house.
That history is still in the roofscape. The National Heritage List records 34 listed buildings within about 500 metres of the village centre. Among them are 10, 11 and 12 Fisherman's Lane, Grade II (list entry 1154950, first listed on 10 November 1983), 18, 19 and 20 (1 and 2 Meadow Cottages), Grade II (1154966), and 22 and 22A the Street, Grade II (1154973). Thirty-four listings in so small a circle mean a survey here starts by asking whether the house, or the one beside it, is on the list.
A listed house needs listed building consent for works that alter its character, which for a roof means a different material, a changed profile or a new opening. Repairs in matching materials come first. Our guide to listed building roof repairs goes through the steps, and West Berkshire Council's planning team decides each case.
The Aldermaston conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the village centre, so an unlisted house nearby may still fall under its closer control of a roof's visible appearance, which the council's map confirms. On the survey we photograph covering, ridge, verge and chimney flashings, and record how each tile or slate is fixed. That record tells us what to match and shows the planning team what is there.
Reclaimed tile is often the answer in a street like this. New clay tiles of the same size can differ in colour from a roof that has weathered for a century, and a mismatched patch is plain to anyone passing on the road. We source sound old tiles where a roof needs gaps filled, and keep the receipts and photographs with your paperwork.
Brick and tile roofs of this age can carry lead at the chimneys, valleys and abutments, and those joints are checked first whenever a leak shows inside. Lead roofing work is noted separately on our survey sheet, because lead that has split at a fold or lifted at a flashing is a different job from a slipped tile, and the repair has to be matched to the way the roof was built.
“At Aldermaston one council sets the plans, the road and the scaffold fee.”
A West Berkshire scaffold licence, and what we price
Because West Berkshire Council is a unitary authority, it is also the highway authority, and putting scaffolding on the public highway needs its licence under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. The council's page says the application must come from a scaffolding provider and not from the resident, and it wants notice of no less than 10 working days before the scaffold is erected. West Berkshire Council's fee is £125, plus £71 per week.
Refunds are limited. West Berkshire Council can generally offer only a 50% refund for an error or a withdrawal before the licence is granted, and nothing once it is. That is another reason to settle the dates properly. Where a house stands back along a lane or a shared drive, no licence is needed on private roads, and the scaffold may never reach the highway.
West Berkshire's weekly fee is a different unit from the fortnight Hampshire uses, so setting the two side by side tells you nothing. The only figure that matters to you is the one in your quote, which should say whether scaffolding is included, so ask. We agree the scaffold with the scaffolder after the survey and before any order is placed.
What gets priced here depends on what the survey finds. Roof repairs cover slipped, cracked or missing tiles, chimney repairs cover stacks with failing pointing or flashings, and lead work covers the folds and flashings that old brick-and-tile roofs rely on. Where a whole slope has had its day, a re-roof is the honest answer and the photographs show why.
Aldermaston's setting south of the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal does not change the roof, but it does change the access. Deliveries need planning. We note the approach at the survey so the dates for the scaffold, the skip and the materials fit together, and the day the tiles arrive is not the day someone discovers the lorry cannot turn.
Gutters and the roofline deserve a look on every visit. Water that misses a gutter runs down a brick wall and stains it, and a fascia that has soaked for years can rot the rafter ends behind it. Guttering, soffits and fascias are priced beside the roof when the survey shows they need it, so one visit and one scaffold serve both jobs. If a rafter end has to be spliced or a board renewed, the photographs go to you before the work starts, and the cost is part of the same total.
Aldermaston: the jobs we take on
Aldermaston roofs: listings, building control and the licence
Can the tiles on a listed Aldermaston cottage be replaced like for like?
Repair in matching materials is normally where the discussion starts, but listed building consent is required for works that alter a listed building's character. 10, 11 and 12 Fisherman's Lane and 1 and 2 Meadow Cottages each carry a Grade II listing. Raise it with West Berkshire Council's planning team first. We photograph and measure the existing tiles so the match is exact, and keep the record for the file.
Who checks building regulations on an Aldermaston re-roof?
Building Control Solutions, the partnership of West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council, on 0300 790 0580, unless you choose a registered building control approver. The national test applies: under 25 per cent of the envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. A covering 15 per cent heavier or more needs approval and a structural check first.
What does a scaffold licence cost on an Aldermaston street?
West Berkshire Council charges £125, plus £71 per week, and expects the application from the scaffolding provider at least 10 working days ahead. Private roads need no such licence, so a scaffold kept off the highway escapes it. Your quote should say whether scaffolding is in the price, so ask. We confirm the position for your address at the survey.
Does Aldermaston's conservation area change how a roof is repaired?
It changes what you may do to a roof's appearance, not whether you can fix a leak. The Aldermaston conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre, and the rules on altering how a roof looks are tighter inside it. Ask West Berkshire Council's planning team before any change of material, colour or shape, and keep its reply.
Close neighbours on the Berkshire side
Have an Aldermaston roof read before it is priced
Give us the address and a photo. We check the West Berkshire route, then quote one total price in writing.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.