Roofers in Elham
22.7 road miles from Margate. Slate, tile and leadwork for Elham homes in the Kent Downs, with the church, the manor and the village boundary on the record before a figure is set.
- In-house inspectionFolkestone & Hythe's own Building Control team.
- Elham conservation areaElham conservation area, within 0.75 km of the centre.
- Grade I churchGrade I church and two Grade II* houses.
Two Grade II* houses, a Grade I church and a Downs setting
Grade I church
St Mary the Virgin, listed 29 December 1966, is in Church of England use, so its roof follows the faculty system.
Grade II* pair
Elham Manor and the Abbots Fireside Hotel and Restaurant are both Grade II*, listed in 1966 and 1952.
Downs setting
Elham's centre is inside the Kent Downs designation, protected land that narrows some permitted development rights.
Elham, a Kent Downs village
Elham's record before a roof survey
| Council | Folkestone & Hythe District Council |
|---|---|
| Building control | Folkestone & Hythe District Council's own Building Control team |
| Scaffold and skip licences | Kent County Council |
| Conservation area | Elham |
| Population, 2021 | 1,429 (Elham parish) |
| From Margate | 22.7 road miles, about 34 min |
| Listed entries within 500 m | 52, National Heritage List |
| Grade II*, first listed 1952 and 1966 | Abbots Fireside, Elham Manor |
| Landscape | Kent Downs National Landscape |
Elham has 1,429 residents and a heritage record far larger than its size suggests: 52 listed entries close to the centre, a Grade I church, a conservation area and a landscape designation covering the village.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Kent County Council, OSRM road routing.
Elham, manor to licence
Elham roofs, from the church and manor to the notice for a scaffold
Three chapters on the listed buildings, the Downs landscape with Folkestone & Hythe's own wording on re-roofing, and the permits and weather averages behind an Elham job.
Chapter 01 of 03
St Mary the Virgin, Elham Manor and the Abbots Fireside
Elham is a Kent Downs village 22.7 road miles south-west of Margate by road, 34 minutes at the wheel, with 1,429 people in the parish at the 2021 Census. Historic England's register lists 52 entries within 500 metres of the village centre, so the register is where an Elham job begins. Three entries show the range: St Mary the Virgin, a Grade I church, first listed on 29 December 1966; Elham Manor, Grade II*, listed on that date as well; and the Abbots Fireside Hotel and Restaurant, Grade II*, first listed on 27 August 1952.
St Mary remains a working Church of England church, and that changes the paperwork. The ecclesiastical exemption in the listed building legislation leaves such a church outside listed building consent, and roof work on it goes through the Church of England's faculty system. Methodist, Baptist and Roman Catholic buildings use their own routes, and a cathedral comes under the Care of Cathedrals Measure; a private house sits outside all of them, so St Mary's status tells you nothing about the cottage across the road.
The manor and the hotel are ordinary listed buildings. Section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 asks for listed building consent for works affecting their character, and a roof carries much of that: the covering, the ridge, the stacks, where flaunching (the mortar collar round each pot) does the sealing, and the lead dressed round their bases. A hotel and restaurant is also a business premises, so its roof is commercial work as well as listed work, and our commercial roofing page explains how that side runs.
For listed work, Folkestone & Hythe District Council is the body that decides. Whatever the council approves, the new work copies the old: tile or slate laid to the existing pattern, a ridge finished the same way, and mortar suited to the masonry beneath. Each list entry also carries a description naming the features that matter, and the scaffold and the repair method are chosen with those in mind. Pictures of each slope and stack reach you before any figure is written, and our slate roofing page covers slate, if that is what your Elham roof carries.
| Entry | Status | First listed |
|---|---|---|
| St Mary the Virgin | Grade I | 29 December 1966 |
| Elham Manor | Grade II* | 29 December 1966 |
| Abbots Fireside hotel and restaurant | Grade II* | 27 August 1952 |
Source: Historic England, National Heritage List for England
Chapter 02 of 03
Downs landscape, village boundary and Folkestone & Hythe's wording
The national planning dataset places Elham inside the Kent Downs National Landscape, formerly the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and shows the Elham conservation area within about 0.75 kilometres of the village centre. Both count as article 2(3) land under the General Permitted Development Order, which narrows what a house can add without an application, and the roof window planning guide is where we set out the conditions. Folkestone & Hythe District Council publishes its conservation areas on an interactive map, and the map, rather than a dataset search, settles which side of a boundary a house stands.
Folkestone & Hythe building control
Myth
Folkestone & Hythe wants approval for every roof repair.FactFolkestone & Hythe District Council puts most repairs, replacements and maintenance outside approval, though replacing roof coverings may need it.
Myth
A village conservation area means no roof work at all.FactIt is article 2(3) land, which narrows some permitted rights; the boundary needs checking, nothing is banned.
Source: Folkestone & Hythe District Council, building control and conservation pages
The council runs its own Building Control team, reached on 01303 853538 between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Folkestone & Hythe District Council's approval page puts new roof coverings among the alterations that may need approval, and separately tells owners that most repairs, replacements and maintenance work do not. Those two statements pull in different directions, so whether a given job counts as a repair or a replacement covering is something we put to the team with photographs. The Planning Portal test is the national guide: less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof, with a covering 15 per cent or more heavier needing approval.
Trees are the other council matter in a conservation area. Folkestone & Hythe asks for at least six weeks' notice, by section 211 notice, before work to trees there, so a branch that scrapes a slope may need paperwork before it is cut back. Its page adds that demolishing a building with a volume of more than 115 cubic metres needs permission. Chimney work has rules of its own: taking out a chimney breast always needs Building Regulations approval, and where it stands on a party wall the neighbour gets two months' notice, any dispute going to a party wall surveyor.
The council's article 4 downloads page links a direction at Longage Hill, Lyminge, and the council also points to its interactive map. A map can show more than a list, so we confirm the position for your address with the council before work is planned.
Chapter 03 of 03
Scaffold, skip and weather notes for an Elham job
Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a licence for any scaffold that blocks an Elham road or pavement, and Kent County Council, not Folkestone & Hythe, is the authority that grants it. The scaffolder applies, we agree the dates, and the licence is Kent County Council's to give. A permit for 7 calendar days costs £52 per week in 2026 to 2027, and the council wants 5 working days' notice, renewals included. The applicant must first satisfy the council on public liability cover. Conditions on the licence include a 1.2 metre gap kept clear between scaffold and carriageway, the standards painted white to a height of 2.5 metres, and night lighting for any part standing in the carriageway or within 45 cm of it. A site inspection, where the council thinks one needed, costs £78, and the county highways line, 03000 41 81 81, answers questions before anyone applies.
Skips have a separate permit, £45 per week for 2026 to 2027, lodged 5 working days ahead of the skip arriving. The cap on a skip is 5 metres by 2 metres, and renewals need 3 days' notice. Where a skip must sit on the footway, the council requires express permission, with a 1.5 metre walkway left for pedestrians. Because the permit and the scaffold run on different dates, we put both on one calendar when the survey is done, so the skip arrives for the strip-off and not a week before it, and a job that overruns gets a renewal lodged in good time rather than a lapse.
For weather, we take the Met Office's Manston averages for 1991 to 2020, which give 110.05 days a year with 1 mm or more of rain and 1846.03 hours of sunshine. Manston is a station elsewhere in Kent, so those are averages for Manston rather than anything measured in Elham. Averages cannot tell you how one roof will behave, which is why slate and tile fixings are worked out for each site under BS 5534, a code of practice rather than a law.
The order of work on an Elham roof follows, from first photographs to a clear street. A later step waits until you have agreed the earlier one, and the single written price waits for the survey.
An Elham re-roof, in order
Survey and photographs
Every slope and stack looked at, pictures sent to you.
Council questions
Listing, boundary and Folkestone & Hythe's Building Control route checked.
Licence and permit
Scaffold licence and skip permit, both from Kent County Council.
Work and clear
Fixings worked out for the site, daily updates, waste taken away.
10-Year workmanship guarantee. In writing
Around Elham
Elham among its Folkestone & Hythe neighbours
Elham answers to Folkestone & Hythe District Council and its own Building Control team for every roof question, so wording from a neighbouring district's website does not carry over; the address decides the route.
Elham church, manor and Downs questions
Can a roof repair on a house near Elham's church go ahead without an application?
It depends on the house, not the church. St Mary the Virgin is an exempt Church of England church, but that exemption does not extend to its neighbours. If your house is listed, listed building consent may be needed for works affecting its character. Separately, Folkestone & Hythe District Council treats the bulk of repairs, replacements and maintenance as needing no building control approval. We check your entry first.
Which Folkestone & Hythe team handles Building Regulations for an Elham roof?
The council's own Building Control team, on 01303 853538 between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Folkestone & Hythe District Council's approval page lists new roof coverings among jobs that may need approval, while most repairs do not. We put your job to the team with photographs, then tell you which side of that line it falls on before the written price is set.
Does the Elham conservation area change what I can do about overhanging trees?
It can. Folkestone & Hythe District Council asks for at least six weeks' notice, by section 211 notice, before tree work in a conservation area. A branch that scrapes a slope or blocks a gutter may therefore need paperwork first. We note the trees on the survey, but the notice is yours or your tree surgeon's to send.
Can an Elham house in the Kent Downs still have a roof window?
It can, but the landscape designation counts as article 2(3) land, which alters what you can add to a house without applying. A window set in a roof slope and a dormer are judged differently, and the conditions are in our roof window planning guide. For listed houses and the conservation area, Folkestone & Hythe District Council confirms the route.
Who applies for a scaffold licence on an Elham street, and how soon?
The scaffolder, to Kent County Council as highway authority, with 5 working days' notice before the permit starts. The permit for 7 calendar days is £52 per week for 2026 to 2027. Folkestone & Hythe issues no scaffold licences. The county's highways line, 03000 41 81 81, takes questions before an application.
Start your Elham roof with photographs
Pictures of the Elham roof, or a visit if you prefer, begin it; the single price, in writing, follows the survey.