A Grade II listed house
Hoathly Hill House carries a Grade II listing dating from 11 May 1983. Work that alters a listed roof needs consent from the council, so we find out what is required before we price anything.
Old tiled roof on a country house
Roofers in Sharpthorne
Roofs in a High Weald hamlet within West Hoathly parish.
Sharpthorne is a hamlet in West Hoathly parish, within the High Weald National Landscape, near a Grade II listed house. Your roof is inspected first, then priced once, in writing.
What a Sharpthorne roof is likely to be
Sandstone, brick and tile across the High Weald
The High Weald body ties local buildings to sandstone and clay beneath them, with bricks and tiles widely used. When tiles need replacing we match colour and texture to what is already there.
Clay tiles weathered on a roof
Homes near West Hoathly's conservation area
The West Hoathly Conservation Area lies a short way from Sharpthorne, and putting back matching tiles is the simplest job on either side of its boundary. Changing how the roof looks is still worth a word with Mid Sussex District Council's planners.
Pitched roofs on village houses
Sharpthorne, on the High Weald
Map of Sharpthorne and the neighbourhoods around it, with Crawley for reference.
Sharpthorne is a hamlet in West Hoathly parish on the High Weald, where land was given to the parish in 1916 for a recreation ground.
- Distance
- 8.5 road miles from Crawley, to the east
- Drive
- About 19 minutes
- Council
- Mid Sussex District Council and West Sussex County Council
- Planning authority
- Mid Sussex District Council
- Population
- 705 (Census 2021, Sharpthorne built-up area)
- Landscape
- High Weald National Landscape
Sharpthorne field notes
Roofing a small High Weald hamlet
Three short chapters on a hamlet in West Hoathly parish, what the National Landscape means for roof plans, and who to ask once a Sharpthorne job outgrows a simple repair.
Stage 01 · Background
A hamlet within West Hoathly parish
Sharpthorne is small, with 705 residents counted in 2021, and no two of its roofs are assumed to be alike.
Sharpthorne is a hamlet in West Hoathly parish, and the Victoria County History records that in 1916 land was given to the parish council as a recreation ground for the inhabitants, especially the children of the hamlet (the county history calls it Cohen's Recreation Ground). The 2021 Census counted 705 people in the built-up area. It is a small place, and in a small place word of mouth travels, so we aim for work you can point to when a neighbour asks who did your roof.
How do you size up a roof in a hamlet like this?
We begin outside, from the garden or lane, with binoculars and a camera before any ladder goes up. The line of the ridge tells us whether the frame has dropped. Gaps in the tile courses point to slips. Dark patches below the eaves suggest a gutter that has been overflowing. Then we go up, and later into the loft, to see the same roof from underneath. You get the photographs of your own roof, labelled with what each one shows, and a plain verdict on whether the answer is a repair, a partial renewal or a new roof.
Before pricing a Sharpthorne roof
- Tiles
- Cracked, slipped or flaking faces
- Ridge
- Caps firm, joints closed
- Flashings
- Tight at chimneys and walls
- Eaves
- Underlay lapping into the gutter
- Loft
- No damp patches on timber
When does mending beat renewing?
When the fault is local and the rest is sound. Five or six slipped tiles, a ridge that has lost its bedding or a lifted flashing all count as repairs, which cost less. A new roof comes into the discussion when the battens have rotted, the underlay has perished over a full slope, or the covering is giving way right across the roof. We say which situation you are in and show the evidence. For an overview of how we handle both, see our pitched roofing page.
Where the roof is a flat one over a porch or garage, we test the falls and the edges too, since standing water there tells its own story. Where a lane is narrow, we check where a delivery lorry can stop and how far materials must be carried. Gutters and downpipes get the same scrutiny as the slopes. Leaves, moss and overgrown shrubs clog a gutter surprisingly quickly, and a clogged gutter soaks the wall below and the eaves course over it. Our notes on what we found go to you on the day, not weeks later. Where the survey turns up something we could not see clearly, such as a valley hidden behind a chimney, the notes say so and explain how we would check it before any work starts.
Stage 02 · Landscape
What the National Landscape means for roofs
Sharpthorne's place in a designated landscape brings a planning question to some roof changes.
The designation is legally an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; National Landscape is its current name, and the High Weald one spans 1,461 square kilometres in three counties. In planning law such land has extra limits on some changes to houses, which is why a dormer in Sharpthorne is a conversation with the council before it is a purchase.
Does a repair in the High Weald need permission?
Putting back what was there, in the same material and the same look, does not alter the appearance of the house. That is where most roof repairs sit. The question changes when the work alters the building: a larger window opening, a dormer, a different covering or a new roofline. For those, speak to the planners at Mid Sussex District Council before you spend anything, and read our planning permission for roof work post for the plain-English rules on roof windows, re-roofs and chimneys.
Can a roof window be added to a Sharpthorne loft?
Sometimes, but this is the sort of change to confirm first. A roof window sits in the slope, so it touches the planning rules, the Building Regulations on heat loss and, if it is a bedroom escape, the fire safety guidance. Our roof windows and skylights page explains what a fitting involves and what it costs to expect from a national guide, so that you can ask better questions of the council and of any roofer.
Listed buildings add a further layer. Hoathly Hill House is a reminder that a historic roof around here may be protected, and changing it so as to alter its special character needs authority first. A listed property should be flagged as such when you first write to us. We will send the council photographs and a description of the repair, and you will have their reply before the written price is final.
Landscape and planning terms
- National Landscape
- Nationally protected countryside in the High Weald
- Matching repair
- Renewing with matching material and appearance
- Roof window
- Glazed unit set in the roof slope
- Dormer
- Small projecting window box with its own roof
None of this should put off a straightforward repair, and most Sharpthorne jobs never reach a council desk. Mending the existing covering is simple, and the rules begin to bite only when the roof's shape or covering is going to change. If you are unsure which camp your job falls into, describe it and attach a picture, and you will hear which questions are worth asking.
Stage 03 · Permissions
Mid Sussex steps for a bigger Sharpthorne job
Mid Sussex District Council handles planning and building control here, and West Sussex County Council looks after the highway.
Most jobs here are repairs that need no form at all. Larger ones, such as replacing an entire slope, change that. They bring in building control, and sometimes the highway, and it is kinder to your calendar to know about both before a start date is promised.
Who checks a re-roof in Sharpthorne?
Mid Sussex District Council runs its own building control service. The Planning Portal says no application is usually required if the work touches under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof. Approval becomes necessary, though, once a replacement covering is 15 per cent or more heavier, and for that case the Portal recommends that a structural engineer or surveyor checks the frame can carry the extra load before work begins. If our survey shows a job that crosses those lines, we ask the council first and the written price follows. Our roof replacement page covers a whole new roof from the first visit.
Will a Sharpthorne lane need a scaffold licence?
West Sussex County Council issues the licence for anything that stands on the highway, wants at least 10 working days' warning, and charges £266 for one month. Keep the frame inside your boundary and no highway licence is needed. On a narrow lane we sort out the licence with the scaffolder, plan deliveries for quieter times and tell neighbours the dates well ahead.
Checks for a larger Sharpthorne job
- Planning
- Mid Sussex District Council
- Approvals
- Mid Sussex building control
- Highway
- West Sussex County Council licence
- Lead time
- 10 working days minimum
- Wildlife
- Bat signs stop the work
What does a re-roof show us about the timbers?
A job that strips a slope shows us the battens and the underlay, which is the moment to fix what has been hidden. Rotten battens are replaced rather than nailed over, the underlay is renewed and the eaves are left clear so the loft can breathe. Where the old underlay is non-breathable felt, BS 5250 guidance, as Marley sets it out, asks for 25mm of ventilation at the eaves where the pitch is 15 degrees or less, and 10mm where it is steeper. Insulation stuffed hard into the eaves can shut that opening, leaving moist indoor air to condense on cold rafters. We check this before the new covering goes on, because afterwards it is a great deal harder to put right.
Roofs can hold roosting bats, which the law protects fully, and GOV.UK lists roof repair in its guidance on bats. A suspected roost or a nest in use pauses the job while we agree the next move with you. Start by sending a picture of the slope in question with your postcode, and tell us whether the house is listed or has a flat roof anywhere.
The Sharpthorne roof work we cover
Sharpthorne roof questions, briefly
How does the High Weald designation affect a Sharpthorne roof repair?
Mending with identical material keeps the outward appearance unchanged, so it carries on as normal. The designation matters most for a dormer, though a roof window or a different covering is still worth checking. For those, put the question to Mid Sussex District Council's planners before anything else, and we will supply photographs and a written note of the job to speed up their answer.
Does matching tile on a Sharpthorne roof raise any heritage question?
West Hoathly's conservation area sits close to Sharpthorne, so ask Mid Sussex District Council whether your house falls within it; replacing like with like is the gentlest route either way. A listed building is different, because altering its character needs authority. If yours is listed, or you are unsure, ask the council's planners and tell us what they say, so that the written price follows their reply and nothing has to be redone.
Who deals with building control for a Sharpthorne re-roof?
Mid Sussex District Council has its own building control service. A few replacement tiles will not need an application, but renewing most of the roof, or choosing a heavier covering, can. Before fixing a start date we put the question to the council and pass on what the council says, so any approval is sorted out well before a scaffold appears on site.
Can scaffold stand in the lane outside a Sharpthorne house?
It can, if West Sussex County Council licenses it: the council asks for at least 10 working days and charges £266 for one month. A scaffold inside your own boundary needs none. Options are talked through at the survey, the scaffolding firm and our office handle any licence between them, and we give neighbours the dates in good time so that no one is surprised by poles outside the gate.
Arrange a Sharpthorne roof survey
Describe the part of the roof that is visible from the lane, add your Sharpthorne postcode, and the survey gets booked.