Roofers in Bulford
A Grade I church, a conservation area and the Bulford henges
Bulford has a Grade I church, a conservation area and a scheduled monument within about 500 metres. Each roof is surveyed, its faults are photographed and one price is written.
Bulford roofs, from the church to the henges
Church of St Leonard
Grade I listed since 18 December 1958 and in use for worship, so its roof follows the faculty route.
Lower Manor Farmhouse
Listed Grade II since 10 October 1988, with Kingfishers and Bulford Chapel also Grade II, each with its own entry.
Streets by the henges
Ground within about 500 m of the centre holds Bulford Henges, a scheduled monument with its own consent rules.
Bulford among the Wiltshire villages
Durrington and Netheravon are the villages to the north-west, with Larkhill to the west, Amesbury to the south-west, Porton to the south, Tidworth to the north-east and Shipton Bellinger to the east.
- Distance
- 15.1 road miles west of Andover
- Planning
- Wiltshire Council
The Bulford roof report
Local editionBulford, WiltshireA Grade I church and one council
Bulford roofs: one Wiltshire council, a Grade I church and a scheduled monument close by
Bulford lies 15.1 road miles to the west of Andover, in Wiltshire. This report covers who decides on a roof here, what the Grade I church and the henges mean for neighbouring work, and how a Wiltshire scaffold licence is handled, step by step.
A large Wiltshire parish with one council
Bulford lies 15.1 road miles west of Andover, over the Wiltshire boundary, and its parish had 5,391 usual residents at the 2021 Census. Wiltshire Council is a unitary authority, so a single body handles planning, Building Regulations through its own Building Control service, and the roads. There is no Hampshire County Council and no district council in the way. For a homeowner that means fewer doors, though not the same doors as in Andover, which is why we confirm the Wiltshire route before a quote is written.
Wiltshire Building Control, based at Monkton Park in Chippenham, books inspections and takes payments on 0300 456 0113 on weekdays. If a re-roof needs its attention, we phone before the job is fixed, not after the scaffold is up, and the reply is noted on the survey. You may instead use a registered building control approver, the private route, under the registration regime in force since April 2024.
The Planning Portal sets the national tests for re-covering a roof. If under 25 per cent of the building envelope is affected and under 50 per cent of the roof, building control approval is not normally needed. Wiltshire Council has not set a percentage of its own for roof coverings, so these remain the working figures. A patch repair is far inside them. A slope stripped from ridge to eaves needs a second look.
Weight is a separate matter. If a new covering raises the weight of the roof by 15 per cent or more, Building Regulations approval is needed, and the Planning Portal suggests calling in a structural engineer or surveyor first. Putting heavy concrete over a frame made for clay or slate is the kind of change that triggers it.
Our work on a Bulford survey is the same wherever we are called: lift what can safely be lifted, photograph the battens (the timber strips that carry the tiles) and the underlay, and record the condition of the ridge, the valleys and the flashings. The report then says plainly whether a patch, a slope or the whole roof needs attention.
Two pieces of paper usually travel with a re-roof price: the survey photographs, and a note of whatever Wiltshire Building Control said. If the answer is that nothing more is needed, the note says so, and you keep it with the house papers for any future sale. If the answer asks for more, the note says what, and the price reflects it before you agree to anything, so no one is surprised halfway through the job.
St Leonard's, Lower Manor and the henges
Historic England's list holds 15 listed buildings within about 500 metres of the centre of Bulford. The Church of St Leonard is listed Grade I (list entry 1131034, first listed on 18 December 1958). It is mapped as an Anglican church still in use, so any roof work goes through the faculty system, not listed building consent. Lower Manor Farmhouse is Grade II (1131037, first listed on 10 October 1988), and Kingfishers (1131039) and Bulford Chapel (1131040) are Grade II too.
Bulford Henges, a scheduled monument within about 500 metres of the centre (list entry 1449706), is a different kind of protected thing. Works to a scheduled monument need scheduled monument consent, and carrying out works without authority is an offence under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. A house roof is not a henge, but the rule is a reminder that the ground near the centre carries its own protection. If a job ever needed the ground dug for a scaffold footing beside the monument, the scheduled monument consent position would be checked first and the work would wait for the answer.
Bulford also has a conservation area, whose council-supplied boundary lies within about 0.75 km of the village centre. A change of shape such as a dormer, or anything that alters the street view of a roof, is a matter to take to Wiltshire Council first, and for a Bulford address we also ask the council whether an Article 4 direction applies, rather than assume either way. Our guide to listed building roof repairs explains the consent route for a listed house.
The listed houses here are repaired in kind. We note the tile or slate size, the colour and the way each is fixed, photograph the ridge and verge details, and describe the roof as it stands in words a planning officer can follow. Reclaimed material is used where new stock would show against the old.
Neighbours matter on a long listing. A scaffold beside a Grade I church is seen from the churchyard and the road, so we plan the boards, the sheeting and the access with those views in mind. Chimney stacks on older houses are checked from the scaffold too: the flashing at the stack's base, and the brickwork pointing, with chimney repairs done in the same visit. The order for a listed roof never changes: survey first, consent second, licence third and the work last, and a date is promised only when the first three are in hand.
“Bulford roofs stand in the same parish as a Grade I church and a monument protected by law.”
MiPermit, a 28-day licence and roof water
Scaffolding on a public road or pavement is licensed under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, and in Bulford the licensing body is Wiltshire Council. Wiltshire Council runs the process through its MiPermit portal, where the firm supplying the scaffold lodges one licence per site. Hoarding is licensed apart from scaffolding, and suspending a marked parking bay is a further step. The householder files nothing; arranging it with the scaffolder is our task.
Wiltshire Council's fee depends on how much warning it gets: £143.80 when notice runs past three working days, and £164.70 otherwise. Wiltshire licences last 28 days. Wiltshire Council adds a late fee of £292.50 to a scaffold that goes up without one, which is a good reason to settle the licence before the date is promised.
Wiltshire's page applies the licence to any part of the public highway. Scaffolding wholly on your own land needs none, though the neighbour's side is a different question: a boundary doubt like that is settled at the survey, with the plan drawn up before the licence is sought. We plan the job to fit within 28 days and raise the point with you at the survey if it looks tight.
Parts of the land within about 250 metres of the centre of Bulford are in Environment Agency Flood Zone 3 on the Flood Map for Planning. That is a river flood map, not a roof matter, but roof water still has to reach a drain or soakaway. On every survey we trace the gutters and downpipes to where they end and report what we see.
Services for Bulford roofs include roof repairs, pitched roofing and the flat roofs on extensions and garages. A roof that is leaking gets a temporary cover first, and the site is tidied daily.
A flat roof on an extension or garage has to shed water by its fall. For flexible-membrane roofs BS 6229:2025 keeps 1:80 as the minimum finished fall, and IKO advises a design fall of 1:40 to allow for settlement. A roof that ponds has run out of fall, whatever the membrane on top, and the survey measures it before a new covering is priced.
When rain is coming in, the roof is made safe first, with a temporary cover over the opening and any loose tiles secured. Tell your insurer before anything else, keep the photographs and receipts, and read the policy's own wording on storms. The Financial Ombudsman Service, on 0800 023 4567, sets out how it judges storm cases.
Roof jobs we handle in Bulford
Bulford roofs: the church, the henges and the licence
Do the Bulford Henges restrict work on a house roof?
Not a roof repair. Scheduled monument consent applies to works to the monument itself, within about 500 metres of the centre. If a job needed ground dug near it, the scheduled monument consent position would be checked first. Roof work on a house nearby follows the ordinary planning and building control rules, and we confirm them at the survey.
Is the Church of St Leonard handled like a listed house?
No. It is Grade I and an Anglican church still in use, so roof works run through the faculty system, not listed building consent. Houses next door are different: a listed one needs listed building consent, and an unlisted one in the conservation area still needs a question to Wiltshire Council about its look.
What does the Wiltshire scaffold licence cost for a Bulford house?
Wiltshire Council charges £143.80 when notice runs past three working days and £164.70 otherwise, and a licence lasts 28 days from the date it starts. A scaffold put up without one attracts a late fee of £292.50. Wiltshire expects the scaffolding firm to apply through MiPermit, and we arrange it with the scaffolder.
Who do I ring about building control for a re-roof in Bulford?
Wiltshire Building Control, on 0300 456 0113 on weekdays, handles bookings and support. The Planning Portal says an application is not normally needed under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof. We ask the service before a re-roof is booked and pass on the reply, so you have it in writing.
The Wiltshire villages near Bulford
Get the Bulford roof checked over
Pass over your address with a single photo. A survey comes first, then Wiltshire's route is checked, then one price is written.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.