Roofers in Bekesbourne
16.5 road miles from Margate. Roof repairs, re-covers and leadwork for Bekesbourne properties, looked at first, with photos of your own roof sent before one written price is set.
- Planning: CanterburyCanterbury City Council decides planning here.
- Five conservation areasFive conservation areas within 0.75 km.
- STG, RochesterSTG Building Control Partnership, Rochester.
A palace monument, a Grade I church and five boundaries
Scheduled palace
The Archbishop's Palace, Bekesbourne is a scheduled monument within about 500 m of the centre, so works there need their own consent.
Grade I
The Church of St Peter has been Grade I since 30 January 1967; repairs go through the Church of England's faculty system.
Old Palace Road
Three Article 4 areas in Canterbury City Council's data are described by address on Old Palace Road, Patrixbourne.
Bekesbourne, south-west of Margate
The parish behind a Bekesbourne roof survey
| Council | Canterbury City Council |
|---|---|
| Building control | STG Building Control Partnership |
| Scaffold and skip licences | Kent County Council |
| Conservation area | Bekesbourne; Bifrons Park (Bekesbourne with Patrixbourne/Bridge); Bekesbourne and Woolton Farm; Patrixbourne; Lee Priory & Garrington (Ickham & Well) |
| Population, 2021 | 919 (Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne parish) |
| From Margate | 16.5 road miles, about 26 min |
| Usual residents, parish | 919, Census 2021 |
| Grade II, first listed 14 March 1980 | Cobham Court |
| Environment Agency flood zone | 3, at the mapped centre |
Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne parish had 919 usual residents at the 2021 Census, a small count against five conservation areas, seven listed entries and a scheduled monument all within a few hundred metres of the centre.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, Canterbury City Council, Kent County Council, OSRM road routing.
Bekesbourne, palace to parish
Roof work in Bekesbourne, where a scheduled palace and a Grade I church sit among five boundaries
Three chapters on consent routes for protected buildings, the conservation areas and Article 4 addresses, and the building control, permit and weather facts for a Bekesbourne job.
Chapter 01 of 03
A scheduled palace, a Grade I church and Cobham Court
Bekesbourne lies 16.5 road miles to Margate's south-west, a drive of about 26 minutes, and a roof in this parish can sit under more than one kind of protection. Historic England's National Heritage List shows 7 listed entries within 500 metres of the village centre, plus a scheduled monument, the Archbishop's Palace, Bekesbourne, within about the same distance. The Church of St Peter is Grade I, first listed on 30 January 1967, and Cobham Court is Grade II, first listed on 14 March 1980. The parish itself, Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, had 919 usual residents at the 2021 Census.
Three consent systems meet in that short list. The Church of St Peter is used by the Church of England, so its repairs go through the faculty system under the ecclesiastical exemption and not through the council's listed building consent. A scheduled monument is different again: the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 makes works to one an offence unless they are authorised, so scheduled monument consent comes first. A listed building such as Cobham Court needs listed building consent from Canterbury City Council, under section 7 of the 1990 Act, for works that affect its character.
The distinction matters, because a roofer who treats all three alike will get one of them wrong. A Grade I church, a scheduled monument and a listed building each have their own application and their own people to speak to, and the sooner the right one is asked, the sooner scaffold dates can be fixed. Each decision belongs to whichever body holds that route. Our part is to look at the roof, send you photographs of each slope, stack and valley, and write the job down plainly enough for the decision-maker to follow. On a listed building the covering, ridge detail and leadwork are matched to what is there unless the consenting body agrees a change, and our lead roofing page explains how flashings and soakers are formed.
The parish also holds the Bridge Over Ford Near Parish Church, which is Grade II. Listing follows each entry and not the lane, so we read the entry for your own address, not the street, and tell you which route applies before any price is set. Historic England publishes the church entry as 1298996 and the palace as 1005136, so you can read both before we call. Our pitched roofing page covers how older slate and tile roofs are repaired.
Chapter 02 of 03
Five conservation areas and three Article 4 addresses
National planning data places 5 conservation areas within about 0.75 km of the centre of Bekesbourne: Bekesbourne; Bifrons Park (Bekesbourne with Patrixbourne and Bridge); Bekesbourne and Woolton Farm; Patrixbourne; and Lee Priory and Garrington (Ickham and Well). Canterbury City Council counts 97 across its whole district. Five inside one small circle mean the useful question for a Bekesbourne roof is which area a particular lane falls inside, and whether it falls inside any.
A conservation area is article 2(3) land, which trims the additions a house may make to its roof without applying, and our roof window planning guide sets out the conditions. The edge of the Kent Downs National Landscape also comes within about 0.75 km of the centre, though the mapped centre sits outside it, and a National Landscape is article 2(3) land too. A boundary line can cross a garden, so we lay your address over the council's map first. Which of those five areas a lane belongs to changes the questions we ask rather than the care we take. In every one of them we photograph each slope before suggesting anything, match the covering and details already there, and describe the work to the council in the same plain terms we use with you.
| Building | Who decides |
|---|---|
| Church of England church in use | Faculty system |
| Scheduled monument | Scheduled monument consent |
| Listed house or outbuilding | Canterbury City Council |
| Unlisted house, conservation area | Canterbury City Council |
Source: Historic England; Canterbury City Council; LBCA 1990 s7
Canterbury City Council's own published data lists 3 Article 4 areas near the village, each described by address on Old Palace Road, Patrixbourne: 1 and 2 Vine Cottage, and Riverside with 1 and 2 Riverside Cottages. An Article 4 direction withdraws specified permitted development rights across a defined area. The council holds the notices that say what each direction removes, so anyone on or near Old Palace Road should put the question to Canterbury City Council ahead of altering a roof's appearance.
Flats are a separate case. For a flat, Canterbury City Council's page is blunt: planning permission is needed to alter its outside appearance, because flats and maisonettes carry no permitted development rights. On a converted house in the parish, any change to how the outside looks therefore starts with the council. Where the work only puts things back as they were, section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 treats it as outside development, provided the building's outward look is unchanged.
Chapter 03 of 03
Building control, Kent County Council permits and Manston averages
Building control for a Bekesbourne address belongs to STG, the shared service that Canterbury runs with Gravesham, Medway and Swale from offices in Rochester, on 01634 331133. Canterbury City Council remains the planning authority. The two desks ask different things: planning is about how the building looks from outside, and building control is about whether the roof meets the Building Regulations on structure, fire and energy.
No re-roofing percentage comes from Canterbury City Council or from STG, so the Planning Portal's test is the yardstick: a re-roof normally needs no application while it affects under 25 per cent of the total building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof. Approval comes into play once a covering raises the load by 15 per cent or more, and heavier coverings on an older frame are the case to watch; the Planning Portal advises a prior look from a structural engineer or surveyor. Approved Document A speaks of loading that rises by more than 15%.
Scaffold standing on a Bekesbourne lane needs a Kent County Council licence under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, applied for by the scaffolding company, and we confirm dates with it after the survey. The fee for 2026 to 2027 is £52 per week, notice is 5 working days, and public liability cover of £5 million is required. A skip permit from Kent County Council is £45 per week, with the same notice, for a skip up to 5 metres by 2 metres. On a narrow lane a scaffold and a skip affect the neighbours, so we agree the dates with you and tell you what happens each day.
Met Office averages logged at Manston across 1991 to 2020 offer a broad weather picture for Bekesbourne. Manston gives a mean wind at 10 metres of 9.86 knots, 11.21 knots in January, and about 613 mm of rain a year, with 110.05 days of 1 mm or more of rain and 21.43 days of air frost. A single station's averages are no forecast for one lane in Bekesbourne.
Fixings are therefore worked out under BS 5534 for each roof's own exposure. The order of work follows below.
Myth
A scaffold on a village lane is a matter for the district council.FactKent County Council is the highway authority and issues the licence, on the scaffolding company's application.
Myth
Station averages tell you what one roof will face.FactThey describe one station over 1991 to 2020; BS 5534 calculates fixings for each site.
Source: Kent County Council; Met Office
10-Year workmanship guarantee. In writing
Around Bekesbourne
Bekesbourne and the parishes around it
Bekesbourne shares Canterbury City Council, the STG partnership and Kent County Council's highway licences with Bridge, Littlebourne, Fordwich, Sturry and Canterbury, so one route covers a roof job across these neighbouring parishes.
Bekesbourne's monument, boundaries and Old Palace Road
Does the scheduled Archbishop's Palace change what can be done to a Bekesbourne house roof nearby?
The palace is its own entry in the National Heritage List, number 1005136, and works to the monument need scheduled monument consent. Your neighbour's house is not covered by that entry, though it may have an entry of its own. We read the entry for your address, and tell you which route applies, before any price is set.
Which of Bekesbourne's five conservation areas covers my lane?
Five lie within about 0.75 km of the centre: Bekesbourne; Bifrons Park; Bekesbourne and Woolton Farm; Patrixbourne; and Lee Priory and Garrington. A lane can sit inside one, between two, or outside all. We lay your address over Canterbury City Council's map and give you the answer in writing, before the survey, so that the roof windows and covering you choose suit it.
Do the Church of St Peter's roof repairs need the council's consent?
Not listed building consent. The church is used for worship by the Church of England, so under the ecclesiastical exemption its repairs go through the faculty system instead. The Grade I listing, first dated 30 January 1967, still tells everyone how carefully a covering and its lead must be matched, and we describe the roof in photographs for whoever decides.
Is there an Article 4 direction on Old Palace Road in Patrixbourne?
Canterbury City Council's published data lists three Article 4 areas there, by address: 1 and 2 Vine Cottage, and Riverside with 1 and 2 Riverside Cottages. The council holds the notices showing what each removes, so ask it before changing the look of a roof on or near that road. We pass the council's answer to you in writing, then price the work.
Who licenses a scaffold on a Bekesbourne lane?
Kent County Council, as highway authority, on an application from the scaffolding company at least 5 working days ahead. The fee for 2026 to 2027 is £52 per week. A skip standing on the lane needs its own Kent County Council permit, £45 per week, so we plan the waste around it.
Show us your Bekesbourne roof
Send a photo, or book a time to see the roof; the one written price comes after the survey.