Roofers in Upavon
St Mary's church, the Manor House and the downland edge of Upavon
Upavon packs a Grade I church, 25 listed buildings and a conservation area into a small village. A survey comes first, then advice that fits the roof.
Upavon roofs under the downs
Streets by St Mary's
Houses around St Mary's church, Grade I since 27 May 1964, with listed neighbours on several sides.
Manor House and College Farmhouse
The Manor House and College Farmhouse, both Grade II, where a repair must respect the listing.
Homes in the conservation area
Houses inside the Upavon conservation area, which lies within about 0.75 km of the village centre.
Upavon, between Pewsey and Netheravon
Pewsey lies north-east and Netheravon to the south. Urchfont is to the west, Collingbourne Ducis to the east, and Durrington and Larkhill further south.
- Distance
- 18.5 road miles west of Andover
- Planning
- Wiltshire Council
The Upavon roof report
Local editionUpavon, WiltshireA Grade I church, the downs edge
Twenty-five listed neighbours and a downland edge: preparing an Upavon roof job
Upavon lies 18.5 road miles from Andover, in Wiltshire, where the North Wessex Downs begin to reach in. This report covers the village's listings and conservation area, the council's Building Control service and the 28-day scaffold licence.
St Mary's church and its crowd of listed neighbours
Upavon parish had 1,175 usual residents at the 2021 Census, yet Historic England's list holds 25 listed buildings within about 500 metres of the village centre. Such a cluster in so small a place means an Upavon roof job often has a protected building somewhere close. St Mary's church holds Grade I status (list entry 1365553), first listed on 27 May 1964. The Manor House (1116444) is Grade II, listed on 4 June 1952, and so is College Farmhouse (1033900).
A conservation area covers part of the village and lies within about 0.75 km of its centre. The council to ask about it is Wiltshire Council, which holds the planning decisions. Treat the look of your roof from the road as the council's business: a change of colour or material goes to its planning team before the order is placed, not after the delivery arrives.
Wiltshire Council's own published data also records an Article 4 area for Upavon, reference 06/0002 in its series. The record shows that it exists and nothing more; the terms are the council's to explain. Ask the planning team whether it touches your address and what it removes, and ask for the reply in writing. Our team can send that question, forward the answer and file a copy with your survey photographs.
Alterations to a listed house's character need listed building consent before they begin. A church in use follows a different route, since for a Church of England building the faculty system takes the place of consent. Whichever path applies, the paperwork precedes the scaffold. Our guide to listed building roof repairs shows how an application is assembled.
If you are planning to sell, a dated set of roof photographs is worth having. Buyers in a village of listed houses ask about consent, and a record that shows what was repaired, how and with what answers the question without a phone call to anyone.
With so many listed buildings packed together, an Upavon survey pays attention to anything shared: a party wall, a valley gutter that crosses a boundary, a chimney stack that serves two houses. Each is photographed, so that the images show whose responsibility it is and what condition it is in, and whether anything needs agreeing with the neighbour before work starts.
Tiles and slates are measured before anything is ordered. Replacements are chosen to match size, thickness and colour, because a patch that stands out in this village stands out to everyone who walks past, and to any officer reviewing the work later. Where old stock can be reclaimed, we prefer it.
The downs edge, Wiltshire Building Control and roof weight
Part of the land around Upavon falls inside the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, formerly an AONB, although the village point is outside the boundary. Residents sometimes assume the downs partnership approves their plans. It does not. Its role in planning is advisory, Wiltshire Council remains the deciding authority, and Natural England is consulted. A routine roof repair is therefore dealt with like any other in the county, and no extra form is needed for the downs.
Building Regulations belong to Wiltshire Council's own Building Control team, at Monkton Park in Chippenham, which takes bookings and payments on 0300 456 0113. A registered building control approver is the private alternative; that register opened on 6 April 2024. At the survey we recommend whichever suits your job, and why, so the choice is yours.
For a re-roof the national benchmark comes from the Planning Portal. Under the Portal's guidance, an application is normally unnecessary below 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof. Wiltshire Council gives no local percentage for a re-cover, so the Portal's figures stand in, and a close call goes to the council's team as a written question.
Weight is a different trigger, and it applies at every scale. Should the replacement turn out heavier by 15 per cent or more, approval under the Building Regulations follows, with a structural inspection advised beforehand. Concrete tile in place of slate is the example people meet, and in an old village the answer depends on the timbers underneath.
Any question to the council goes in writing, together with the address, the pictures and a brief account of the intended work. We ask for the reply by email and file it with the survey. Replies take as long as they take, so the answer sets the date, and the scaffold stays unbooked until it arrives.
Ridge and verge faults come up often on older roofs. The ridge is the capping along the top and a verge finishes the edge of a gable slope; where mortar has cracked, dry ridge and verge fixings hold the tiles without leaning on mortar alone.
The survey finds that out, slope by slope. From the loft we look at the rafters, count the battens and watch for sag, damp and rot. If the timbers are sound and the new covering is close to the old in weight, the job goes ahead. If not, you learn it before a single tile is ordered.
A modest repair seldom gets near any of these lines, and the note we write says so.
“Upavon's centre holds a Grade I church and a crowd of listed neighbours.”
Twenty-eight days of Wiltshire scaffold
Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a licence for anything standing in the road, and in Upavon the council that grants one is Wiltshire. On the council's page the applicant is the firm that supplies the scaffolding, using MiPermit, and each site has its own licence. As householder you complete nothing.
Wiltshire Council prices by notice: its fee is £143.80 where the application carries more than 3 working days' notice, and £164.70 where it carries less, and every licence runs for 28 days. Scaffolding and hoarding count as separate licences, and a marked bay on the road needs its own suspension. Those are the three questions we answer at the survey before a date is set.
Planning the frame matters on any village street. We look at where deliveries can stand, where the skip can go and how much pavement the scaffold will take. Neighbours hear from us first, and no drive is blocked without agreement.
The 28 days include the days when nobody is on the roof. Setting up, waiting for materials and striking the frame all happen inside the licence, which is why we order tiles, battens and underlay before the scaffolder arrives and agree a strike date with them in advance. Idle days cost the same as busy ones.
Plenty of village roofs need no frame on the highway. If the garden is big enough, the frame may sit entirely within your boundary, and a low outbuilding can be done from a tower. If your roof is one of those, there is no permit to buy and no wait for one. We also check whether any neighbour's boundary is involved, since a frame on your side can still need a word with the house next door.
Upavon roofs are served by a few services. Roof repairs fix slipped tiles and flashings that have lifted. On a slate roof, nails and slates are checked together. Where one slate has slipped, a copper tingle hooked under the course above holds its replacement without stripping the slope. Chimney repairs restore stacks whose pointing has crumbled, a frequent source of damp in older houses.
Every stage is photographed, the site is tidied each evening, and the waste leaves with us on the last day. You are told each morning what the day holds, and each evening what was finished, so there is never a mystery about progress on your roof. If weather halts work, the slope is sheeted, and the 28 days were counted into the plan from the start, so a wet week causes no surprise.
The Upavon roof work we cover
Upavon roofs: the church, the downs edge and the permit
Do I need consent to repair a roof next to St Mary's in Upavon?
That depends on your own house being listed. Living beside a Grade I building adds no consent duty to your own roof. We look up the Historic England entry for your address at the survey. If your house is listed, anything that affects its character needs listed building consent before work begins, and we help prepare the application for you.
What does the Article 4 area recorded for Upavon cover?
Wiltshire Council's data lists one for Upavon, reference 06/0002, and only the council can explain its terms to you. Take the question to its planners before you order materials, and request the answer on paper. Our team will send the enquiry, pass on the reply and file a copy with your survey photographs, so the answer is never lost.
Does the downs edge change a chimney repair in Upavon?
For a repair, no. The partnership only advises and Wiltshire Council decides, and a matching chimney repair needs no extra step because of the downs. A change to a stack's height or appearance is different, and goes to the council, and to the conservation area rules if your house is inside it. Ask first, and keep the answer.
For how many days is an Upavon scaffold permit valid in Wiltshire?
Each Wiltshire Council licence is valid for 28 days. Wiltshire Council charges £143.80 with more than 3 working days' notice and £164.70 with less, and the scaffolding company applies through MiPermit. We shape the programme to finish within the 28 days and book early to secure the lower fee, so that no extra weeks of scaffold appear on the bill.
Pewsey Vale villages beyond Upavon
Get your Upavon roof surveyed
Tell us which lane you are on and attach a photo. Inspection first, then consents, then a written total.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.