Question 1

Do I need planning permission for a new roof?

Accepted Answer

Usually not for a like-for-like re-cover, which is normally permitted development. It changes where permitted-development rights have been removed — Macclesfield has conservation areas across the town centre and beyond, with Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street — and a listed building needs consent whatever the material. For most houses, re-covering a roof in the same material is permitted development and needs no planning application at all. That is the default position and it covers the great majority of re-roofs. The exceptions matter here more than in many towns. Macclesfield has conservation areas at the Town Centre, Christ Church, High Street, Park Green, Park Lane, Buxton Road, Prestbury Road, St Pauls, the Canal, Hollands Place and Black Road, and Hurdsfield. Within a conservation area, changing the appearance of a roof is a more sensitive matter, and a change of material — slate to concrete tile being the classic — can require permission where a like-for-like replacement would not. Article 4 directions go further. At Christ Church and High Street there are Article 4(2) directions, which remove permitted-development rights outright for the works they cover. In those streets, work that would be automatic elsewhere needs an application. Listed buildings are a separate regime again. Any change to a listed building affecting its character needs listed building consent, and that includes the roof covering. Doing listed building work without consent is a criminal offence rather than a planning breach, so this is not a corner to cut. Roof windows and dormers have their own rules. Rooflights on a rear or side slope are generally permitted development within limits on projection, with obscure glazing required where they overlook a boundary. A dormer is a bigger question and depends on volume, position and whether it faces a highway. Solar panels have their own set again. The practical advice is simple: it takes five minutes to check with Cheshire East planning, and it takes considerably longer to unwind a pallet of the wrong tiles. Where a property is in a conservation area or listed, that check happens before anything is ordered rather than after the scaffold is up.

Question 2

Planning permission to change roof tiles

Accepted Answer

Usually not for a like-for-like re-cover, which is normally permitted development. It changes where permitted-development rights have been removed — Macclesfield has conservation areas across the town centre and beyond, with Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street — and a listed building needs consent whatever the material. For most houses, re-covering a roof in the same material is permitted development and needs no planning application at all. That is the default position and it covers the great majority of re-roofs. The exceptions matter here more than in many towns. Macclesfield has conservation areas at the Town Centre, Christ Church, High Street, Park Green, Park Lane, Buxton Road, Prestbury Road, St Pauls, the Canal, Hollands Place and Black Road, and Hurdsfield. Within a conservation area, changing the appearance of a roof is a more sensitive matter, and a change of material — slate to concrete tile being the classic — can require permission where a like-for-like replacement would not. Article 4 directions go further. At Christ Church and High Street there are Article 4(2) directions, which remove permitted-development rights outright for the works they cover. In those streets, work that would be automatic elsewhere needs an application. Listed buildings are a separate regime again. Any change to a listed building affecting its character needs listed building consent, and that includes the roof covering. Doing listed building work without consent is a criminal offence rather than a planning breach, so this is not a corner to cut. Roof windows and dormers have their own rules. Rooflights on a rear or side slope are generally permitted development within limits on projection, with obscure glazing required where they overlook a boundary. A dormer is a bigger question and depends on volume, position and whether it faces a highway. Solar panels have their own set again. The practical advice is simple: it takes five minutes to check with Cheshire East planning, and it takes considerably longer to unwind a pallet of the wrong tiles. Where a property is in a conservation area or listed, that check happens before anything is ordered rather than after the scaffold is up.

Question 3

Can I change my roof material?

Accepted Answer

Usually not for a like-for-like re-cover, which is normally permitted development. It changes where permitted-development rights have been removed — Macclesfield has conservation areas across the town centre and beyond, with Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street — and a listed building needs consent whatever the material. For most houses, re-covering a roof in the same material is permitted development and needs no planning application at all. That is the default position and it covers the great majority of re-roofs. The exceptions matter here more than in many towns. Macclesfield has conservation areas at the Town Centre, Christ Church, High Street, Park Green, Park Lane, Buxton Road, Prestbury Road, St Pauls, the Canal, Hollands Place and Black Road, and Hurdsfield. Within a conservation area, changing the appearance of a roof is a more sensitive matter, and a change of material — slate to concrete tile being the classic — can require permission where a like-for-like replacement would not. Article 4 directions go further. At Christ Church and High Street there are Article 4(2) directions, which remove permitted-development rights outright for the works they cover. In those streets, work that would be automatic elsewhere needs an application. Listed buildings are a separate regime again. Any change to a listed building affecting its character needs listed building consent, and that includes the roof covering. Doing listed building work without consent is a criminal offence rather than a planning breach, so this is not a corner to cut. Roof windows and dormers have their own rules. Rooflights on a rear or side slope are generally permitted development within limits on projection, with obscure glazing required where they overlook a boundary. A dormer is a bigger question and depends on volume, position and whether it faces a highway. Solar panels have their own set again. The practical advice is simple: it takes five minutes to check with Cheshire East planning, and it takes considerably longer to unwind a pallet of the wrong tiles. Where a property is in a conservation area or listed, that check happens before anything is ordered rather than after the scaffold is up.

Question 4

Conservation area roof rules

Accepted Answer

Usually not for a like-for-like re-cover, which is normally permitted development. It changes where permitted-development rights have been removed — Macclesfield has conservation areas across the town centre and beyond, with Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street — and a listed building needs consent whatever the material. For most houses, re-covering a roof in the same material is permitted development and needs no planning application at all. That is the default position and it covers the great majority of re-roofs. The exceptions matter here more than in many towns. Macclesfield has conservation areas at the Town Centre, Christ Church, High Street, Park Green, Park Lane, Buxton Road, Prestbury Road, St Pauls, the Canal, Hollands Place and Black Road, and Hurdsfield. Within a conservation area, changing the appearance of a roof is a more sensitive matter, and a change of material — slate to concrete tile being the classic — can require permission where a like-for-like replacement would not. Article 4 directions go further. At Christ Church and High Street there are Article 4(2) directions, which remove permitted-development rights outright for the works they cover. In those streets, work that would be automatic elsewhere needs an application. Listed buildings are a separate regime again. Any change to a listed building affecting its character needs listed building consent, and that includes the roof covering. Doing listed building work without consent is a criminal offence rather than a planning breach, so this is not a corner to cut. Roof windows and dormers have their own rules. Rooflights on a rear or side slope are generally permitted development within limits on projection, with obscure glazing required where they overlook a boundary. A dormer is a bigger question and depends on volume, position and whether it faces a highway. Solar panels have their own set again. The practical advice is simple: it takes five minutes to check with Cheshire East planning, and it takes considerably longer to unwind a pallet of the wrong tiles. Where a property is in a conservation area or listed, that check happens before anything is ordered rather than after the scaffold is up.

Do I need planning permission for a new roof?

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