Roofers in Fair Oak
A village of 11,708 people, a listed pub and Bishopstoke nearby
Fair Oak and Horton Heath had 11,708 residents at the 2021 Census, yet only one listed building lies within 500 metres of the centre. The survey comes first.
Fair Oak roofs from the Old George outwards
The Old George
The Old George Public House is listed Grade II, the one listing within 500 metres of the centre.
Homes of the parish
The 2021 Census counted 11,708 usual residents in Fair Oak and Horton Heath, under Eastleigh Borough Council.
Bishopstoke nearby
Bishopstoke's conservation area lies within about 2.5 km of Fair Oak, though that does not mean your street is covered.
Fair Oak between Bishopstoke and Upham
Bishopstoke lies west, Eastleigh west beyond it, Upham north-east, Durley south-east, Colden Common north and Allbrook north-west.
- Distance
- 24 road miles south-east of Andover
- Planning
- Eastleigh Borough Council
- Council
- Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire County Council
The Fair Oak roof report
Local editionFair Oak, HampshireA big village and a short heritage list
Fair Oak's roofs in a big village: one borough, a shared inspection service and one listed pub
Fair Oak and Horton Heath is a Hampshire parish of 11,708 people. This report covers who plans and who inspects a roof here, what the one nearby listing and Bishopstoke's conservation area change, and how a scaffold is licensed.
A large village and its borough
The parish of Fair Oak and Horton Heath counted 11,708 usual residents at the 2021 Census. That is a lot of roofs, and they are all in Eastleigh Borough. Eastleigh Borough Council takes the planning decisions. Building Regulations are checked by Southampton and Eastleigh Building Control, which pairs Southampton City Council with the borough. Hampshire County Council licenses scaffold on the road. A homeowner or a small business therefore meets three public bodies on a large job, and the useful thing a roofer can do is say which of them is relevant to which question.
The Planning Portal's cut-offs for a re-roof are 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. A job that affects less than both is not usually a building control application. We work to those cut-offs in Fair Oak, and a job that approaches either is put to the inspecting service ahead of booking. A registered building control approver is also open to you.
Weight is the other trigger. Where a new covering makes the roof 15 per cent or more heavier, Building Regulations approval is required, and a structural opinion is recommended beforehand. Rafters, the timbers under each slope, are measured and their spacing noted.
A big village means a mix of buildings, and the survey adapts. On a pitched roof we begin with the gutters and the fascia (the board along the eaves) and work up to the ridge and across to the chimneys. On a flat roof we ask where the water goes: does it reach the outlets, or does it stand? Ponding and split seams are photographed.
Shops, pubs and small units sit among the houses, and their roofs get the same attention with some extra questions about access and trading. The plan says which days the work falls on the front of the building, so customers can still find the door.
The parish name joins two places, Fair Oak and Horton Heath, but for roof purposes they answer to the same councils, so one set of checks serves both. A parish this large holds many forms of roof, from pitched coverings to flat-roofed extensions and garage roofs, and we match the survey method to the roof in front of us, not to the street it stands in.
A first telephone call is often enough to settle the council position: we ask for the address, look it up in the borough's mapping and tell you what we find before anyone visits.
Every finding in the report points to a photograph, and the set reaches you before any price.
The Old George and a short heritage list
The Old George Public House is listed Grade II (list entry 1111946, first listed on 14 February 1983). It is the only listed building Historic England records within about 500 metres of the Fair Oak centre, which is a short list for a parish of this size. Where work would change the character of a listed pub, listed building consent is required as well as any planning permission, and a roof repair there starts from matching materials and a full photographic record.
For almost every other Fair Oak address the heritage question is a different one: not whether the building is listed, but whether anything else limits what can be done to the roof. Bishopstoke's conservation area is the nearest, at about 2.5 km from the middle of Fair Oak. A house is covered only if the borough's boundary takes it in, so the map decides, and the planning team is asked where a question remains.
Article 4 directions on your road are a matter for Eastleigh Borough Council. We ask the borough on your behalf, and the reply goes into your file whatever it says.
Our guide to planning permission for roof work sets out where a dormer or other alteration needs an application. A repair or matching re-cover is treated differently from an alteration, and the written survey says which of the two applies.
With few designations, the survey carries more of the load. We photograph the ridge, the verges (the sloping edges of a gable roof), the valleys and every chimney in close-up, and where it is safe we raise a tile or two to see the battens and underlay beneath.
Your file notes each designation that does or does not touch your house, and a later owner can read it in a minute.
You can check a house yourself. Historic England's online list can be searched by address, and the borough's planning map shows conservation areas. If you would rather not, we do both at the start of every enquiry and tell you what turned up, including when nothing did. A boundary can be reviewed over time, so the check uses the current map and not an old print.
For a listed pub or any listed commercial building, the record covers the roof from the street, from the rear and from any yard, and notes how trading continues during the work. If you are buying or selling in Fair Oak, a survey with photographs is a record both sides can read, written in plain terms and covering the covering, the flashings, the chimneys and the gutters.
“In Fair Oak, with so few designations, the roof itself is the thing to be read.”
Hampshire's scaffold licence and the commercial angle
Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a licence for scaffold over a Fair Oak footway or carriageway, and the licence comes from Hampshire County Council, not from the borough. Hampshire County Council expects the scaffolding contractor to apply for its customer. Hampshire County Council wants 10 clear working days of lead time, offers no extensions, and charges £211.90 for the first 2 weeks, then £72 for each further 2-week block.
If the scaffold stays on your own land, none of that applies. A rear garden, a yard or a private drive can all qualify, and at survey we look for the route that avoids the public highway. For a shop or a pub, that route often protects trade, and it is worth the extra thought.
Commercial roofing deserves its own mention. A shop, a unit or a pub roof carries plant, vents and rooflights as well as the covering, and each penetration needs its flashing checked. We also ask about opening hours, deliveries and the neighbours before a plan is written. On the domestic side, roof repairs deal with slipped tiles and lifted flashings, and roof replacement is laid out beside repair when a covering has run its course.
Repair or replace is a question about the timbers and fixings, not the age of the roof. A sound roof with one failed spot wants a repair. A roof whose fixings are going across a whole slope wants a new covering. The photographs show which you have, so the choice is yours and made with evidence. Citizens Advice recommends gathering written quotes from at least 3 traders, and a clear photograph set makes them easy to compare.
Before the scaffold goes up we suggest telling neighbours, and we provide a short note with the dates. We also ask about side passages and gates, since the width of a gate can decide whether tiles arrive by barrow or by crane.
At the end of the job you see the finished roof in photographs taken from the survey positions, so before and after sit side by side. Anything left for another visit is written down with a date, and the site is cleared before we leave. If the roof was leaking, you also get the survey's explanation of why, so the fault is understood and not just patched.
Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, Durley, Colden Common, Allbrook and Upham are all close. Upham is inside the South Downs National Park and so follows different planning rules, which is one reason each address is checked separately.
What we can do for your Fair Oak roof
Fair Oak roofs: the Old George, the borough and the licence
Does a roof repair on the listed Old George in Fair Oak need consent?
A repair that alters the character of a listed building needs listed building consent as well as any planning permission, and the council decides what counts. We start with matching materials and photograph the covering, ridge and chimneys in detail. Eastleigh Borough Council can confirm whether a particular repair needs consent before any date is booked.
Who inspects a re-roof in Fair Oak?
Southampton and Eastleigh Building Control, which pairs Southampton City Council with the borough, so it is not Eastleigh alone. A replacement 15 per cent or more heavier than the existing covering needs Building Regulations approval. Larger jobs reach that service ahead of booking, and its reply is kept in your file with the pictures, so the route is confirmed before you commit.
Is Fair Oak near a conservation area?
Bishopstoke's is the nearest, within about 2.5 km, which is near but not necessarily covering your street. The borough's map decides for a given address, and the planning team is asked where doubt remains. The reply is written into your survey notes before any quote is prepared, so the position is known before money is discussed.
Can the scaffold avoid a county licence on a Fair Oak shop roof?
Sometimes. Hampshire County Council licenses scaffold on the public highway, with the scaffolding firm applying and 10 clear working days needed, at £211.90 for the first 2 weeks and £72 for each further 2-week period. Rear access across your own land needs no licence, and we look for that route first. The licence cost, if any, is part of your single price.
Nearby areas
Fair Oak roofs, read first
Send the address, home or shop. We book a survey, and one written price follows.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.