Roofers in Three Mile Cross
Mitford's village on the Reading road, south of the M4
Three Mile Cross is a Shinfield village on the old Reading to Basingstoke road. Each roof is surveyed first, then you get pictures of the fault and a single total.
Three Mile Cross roofs, from Highway Cottage to the Swan
Highway Cottage and The Mitford
Highway Cottage and The Mitford are both Grade II, and roofs beside them are repaired to suit.
The Swan Inn
The Swan Inn is Grade II as well, so repairs to it and beside it take care over matching.
Houses on the Reading road
Homes strung along the old road, where access from a busy highway shapes the frame and the delivery plan.
Three Mile Cross between Calcot and Mortimer
Calcot lies to the north-west, Tilehurst also to the north-west, Mortimer to the south-west and Burghfield Common to the west. Our work reaches each of these places.
- Distance
- 28.5 road miles north-east of Andover
- Planning
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Council
- Wokingham Borough Council (unitary)
The Three Mile Cross roof report
Local editionThree Mile Cross, BerkshireA Shinfield village and Wokingham's rules
Three Mile Cross belongs to Wokingham, not Reading: who decides on a roof here
Three Mile Cross lies in the west of Shinfield parish, on the road out of Reading, and its roofs answer to Wokingham Borough Council. It covers the council, the shared inspectors, the older buildings and the four-week scaffold fee.
Wokingham for planning, a Berkshire partnership for inspections
Three Mile Cross is a village on the Reading to Basingstoke road in the west of Shinfield parish, just south of the M4. Shinfield parish had 17,560 usual residents at the 2021 Census, and the whole parish is in the Borough of Wokingham, a unitary authority. Wokingham Borough Council is the body that grants planning permission and manages the roads. Inspections come through Building Control Solutions, known as BCS, which Wokingham shares with West Berkshire Council, on 0300 790 0580.
That arrangement means two councils stand behind the inspectors even though one decides planning. It is worth knowing because a Three Mile Cross address can look as if it belongs to Reading or to West Berkshire, and neither is correct. We confirm the council at the start of every survey and note it on your file.
For a re-roof, the national test applies. Touch under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof, and building control normally stays out of it. The envelope counts walls, floor, roof, windows, doors, roof windows and rooflights together. Weight is judged apart: replacing a roof with a covering that is 15 per cent or more heavier than before needs Building Regulations approval, and the Planning Portal says the structure should first be assessed by an engineer or surveyor.
Some owners prefer a private inspector, and a registered building control approver can be appointed for the purpose, a regime in force from 6 April 2024. At the survey we compare the two routes plainly, so the choice is made early and on the evidence.
Before you sign anything with any roofer, know the basics of your position. Under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a roofer owes you reasonable care and skill, and no contract term can remove that duty. If you need advice, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133. Written quotes, a named covering and photographs of the work make a dispute far easier to settle if one ever arises.
Conservation areas call for a different kind of care. Whether your address lies in one is a question for Wokingham Borough Council's planning team, which can also tell you whether an Article 4 direction touches your street. Ask both questions before any visible change is drawn up.
Mitford's village, the Swan Inn and a Wesleyan chapel
In 1923 the Victoria County History described Three-Mile-Cross on the Reading road as a village that figures in Miss Mitford's Our Village, noting that the house where she lived for thirty years was by then used as a club-house. It also records a Wesleyan chapel in the village, and says the place lies on a spread of valley gravel on the west side of Shinfield parish. Those are descriptions from a century ago, not claims about roofs now. Three Mile Cross is the western corner of Shinfield parish, which had 17,560 usual residents at the 2021 Census.
Historic England's list shows 7 listed buildings within 500 metres of the centre of Three Mile Cross. Highway Cottage is Grade II (list entry 1312959, first listed on 29 April 1987). The Mitford (1118130) and The Swan Inn (1312956) are Grade II as well. Any roof beside them stands next to a protected neighbour. Where the building itself is listed, changing its character needs listed building consent, on top of whatever planning permission applies.
On a listed roof we begin with the tile already there: measure it, photograph how it is fixed and look for a twin among salvaged stock. The ridge and verge are recorded, and the council receives a brief account of the proposed repair. A chapel raises a separate question. A Methodist chapel in use looks to its own denomination's consent system, while a closed or disused one, if listed, needs listed building consent, so the first call goes to the church or, if it has closed, to the council.
On an inn such as the Swan, outbuildings, flat sections and lead details all deserve a look. We survey those with the main roof, because a leak in a valley or a parapet can show far from where the water enters. Per MyJobQuote, lead flashing can outlast 80 years, a floor and not a forecast, which is why sound flashing is dressed back and not discarded.
A survey sheet runs down the same list on every roof, which is what lets you compare jobs: the covering and its condition, the ridge, the verge, each valley, the flashings, the stack, the gutters and downpipes, and the view from the loft hatch. A photograph sits beside every entry. Where nothing is wrong you still see the picture, so you can tell a clean bill from a skipped check.
On a village road that is also a main route, neighbours and passers-by see every roof. Where possible the footway stays clear, neighbours are told before a frame goes up, and the position of the skip is agreed with you in advance.
“Three-Mile-Cross figures in Miss Mitford's Our Village, as the VCH noted in 1923.”
Source: VCH Berkshire vol 3 (1923), Parishes: Shinfield
A four-week scaffold fee and tile repairs by the numbers
Where a Three Mile Cross house fronts the Reading road, a frame may stand on the public highway, and section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 calls for a licence. Wokingham Borough Council issues it, and its guidance has the scaffolding company apply for the customer, at least 10 working days ahead. Wokingham Borough Council charges £263 for the first 4 weeks and £163 for each 4-week period after that.
The unit is four weeks, not a week or a fortnight, so compare it with another council's fee only with care. A short job and a long one inside four weeks pay the same first charge, which rewards a tidy programme. At survey we work out how long the frame must stand and whether the first period will cover it. Scaffold on land you own sidesteps the licence altogether.
Two checks belong on any quote. Is VAT at the standard 20 per cent in the figure, and is the scaffold in it too? The reverse charge, which lets contractors account for VAT between themselves inside the Construction Industry Scheme, is never how a homeowner is billed. Citizens Advice also advises obtaining written quotes from at least 3 traders, and the quotes easiest to compare are those that spell out which covering, what area and which fixings.
Many roofing jobs are small, so some national guides help. A Which? survey of 11 traders (November 2025) gives a typical UK range of £75 to £400 per job, excluding VAT, for replacing up to six cracked or absent standard tiles, and MyJobQuote (6 October 2026) puts replacing five tiles at around £215. The same Which? survey gives £75 to £350 for clearing every gutter front and back. MyJobQuote's average roof repair is around £650 in 2026. They are published guides, and none of them is our price.
Emergencies and storms are priced differently. MyJobQuote (22 October 2026) says emergency call-outs typically range from £150 to £300, and it puts storm repairs at around £300 to start, rising to £1,200 or more only for extensive damage. A garage roof replacement is between £750 and £3,500 on MyJobQuote's page of 26 October 2026, with an average of £1,500. Your own written price follows the survey, once, in full.
Our roof repairs cover those small jobs, pitched roofing covers full re-covering, and guttering, soffits and fascias keep the roofline sound. Flat roofs on extensions and garages are checked for falls and drainage, with a finished minimum of 1:80 under BS 6229:2025.
Every job is photographed before and after, and the price is one written total.
Roof jobs we handle in Three Mile Cross
Three Mile Cross roofs: council, chapel and four-week fee
Is a Three Mile Cross house covered by Wokingham or by West Berkshire?
Wokingham Borough Council, since the village sits in the west of Shinfield parish. Inspections come through BCS, which Wokingham runs with West Berkshire, so the village can seem to belong to West Berkshire. We settle the council at the start of the survey so the right planning team is asked, and your file shows the answer.
Can the Grade II Swan Inn roof in Three Mile Cross be re-covered in new tiles?
Only with care and consent, and never on a guess. Altering a listed building's character calls for listed building consent, and Wokingham Borough Council's planning team decides. A matching or salvaged tile is the starting point, the roof as it stands is photographed, and the planning team sees the proposal before any material is ordered.
How does Wokingham charge for a scaffold licence?
Wokingham Borough Council charges £263 for the first 4 weeks and £163 for each 4-week period after that, with at least 10 working days' notice. Wokingham Borough Council has the scaffolding company, not the householder, apply. Scaffold on land you own needs no licence. We coordinate dates, and the cost sits within your one written price.
What is a typical UK range for replacing a few roof tiles?
A Which? survey (November 2025) gives £75 to £400 per job for replacing up to six cracked or absent standard tiles, excluding VAT, and MyJobQuote (6 October 2026) puts five tiles at around £215. Those are national guides, not our prices. A written price for your own roof comes only after we have surveyed it, and it is one total.
Have a Three Mile Cross roof surveyed first
Pass on your address and any roof photo. Then come the survey, the council check and a single price.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.