Hersden · about 35 minutes north of Folkestone
Roofers in Hersden
A village near the Westbere No.2 and the Hoath, Rushbourne and Tile Lodge conservation areas. Tell us how the roof looks from the ground, and we explain what it fairly needs and in which order.
- Named areas nearby
- Westbere No.2, and Hoath, Rushbourne and Tile Lodge
- Who checks a Hersden re-roof
- STG Building Control Partnership, which handles Canterbury City Council's applications
- From Folkestone
- 23.7 road miles, a drive of about 35 minutes
- Scaffold permit
- Kent County Council charges £52 per week for 2026 to 2027
Three Hersden roof findings and the verdict each one earns
What we found
A garage roof in old cement sheets
What it fairly needs
Test before anything is touched.
What we found
A roof window leaking at its flashing
What it fairly needs
Refit the flashing kit, keep the window.
What we found
A roof window with a rotted frame
What it fairly needs
Fit a new one to the rating.
The fair ledger
Conservation area names, garage sheeting and roof windows in Hersden
The Westbere No.2 area and the Hoath, Rushbourne and Tile Lodge area lie near the centre of Hersden. The entries below take those names, garage roof sheeting and roof windows, and each ends in a verdict.
Entry 01Boundaries
Westbere No.2 and Hoath, Rushbourne and Tile Lodge: is your road inside?
Both named areas lie near the centre of Hersden. Whether your road falls inside either is for Canterbury City Council's map to say, and we ask before we price.
Names on a map, questions for the council
Putting a new covering on a house normally stays within permitted development, conservation area or not. Dormers are covered by our planning guide and are never assumed. The point that needs a call to the council is an Article 4 direction, since a direction may withdraw more of the permitted rights, and the Hersden area has one recorded. What it removes is for Canterbury City Council to confirm, so we put your address to the council and never describe a direction we have not read.
Canterbury counts 97 conservation areas across the district, with a map to match. A house in a village can sit inside a boundary, outside it or exactly on the line, which is why the answer comes from the map and never from the village name or the postcode. It is worth having in writing if you are selling or remortgaging, because a buyer will ask what was done to the roof and under what authority.
Does living near these areas mean my Hersden roof is restricted?
Not on proximity alone. A restriction follows the boundary of an area or a direction, and a house a short way outside one is outside it. Canterbury City Council's map settles it address by address, and an Article 4 direction is the part that can remove rights, so that is the question we ask the council first.
From a map reference to a decision
- Open the council's conservation area map and find the road.
- Ask the council whether an Article 4 direction touches the address.
- Check the Historic England register for a listing on the house.
- Photograph the roof, then pick the covering with those answers in hand.
One set of photographs serves the survey and the council, so no one climbs the ladder twice. Our planning guide for roof work covers what stays permitted, and our pitched roofing service picks the work up from there.
Re-covering a house near a boundary
Ask Canterbury City Council first
Cracked ridge tiles, sound slopes
Refix the ridge
Entry 02Garage roofs
A garage roof in cement sheets: test before anyone touches it
HSE advises assuming asbestos is present in a building built or refurbished before 2000. A cement-sheet garage roof is treated with care until it has been tested.
What HSE's guidance means on a roof
HSE places asbestos cement roof sheeting that is carefully handled and removed without breaking up in the non-licensed category, and that includes cement which is weathered but not otherwise substantially damaged. Where sheeting is substantially damaged or broken up, the work becomes notifiable non-licensed work. A14 guidance from HSE describes such roofs as fragile in every case, so the survey uses a ladder at the gutter line and an inspection from below, and nobody walks on the sheets.
The survey records what the sheets look like as far as can be seen, recommends a test, and sets out the route that the result allows. Soffits need their own care: HSE lists white asbestos insulating board panels under roof eaves among the places the material can be found, and HSE treats most work on that board as licensed. The note that goes to you says which parts of the roof the test would cover, so nothing is left to be found halfway through.
Myth: Cement roof sheets are harmless to break up, being only cement.
Fact: HSE puts carefully removed asbestos cement in a different category from damaged or broken-up sheeting, and tells owners to assume asbestos in older buildings.
Where the waste goes
HSE tells owners to use a lockable skip for asbestos, and a standard skip with sheeting thrown over it falls short. The exemption from consignment notes for household hazardous waste excludes asbestos. Kent County Council's recycling centres accept a householder's own asbestos in small amounts, sealed with tape inside two layers of strong plastic and kept damp, up to 5 sacks a month free, and not at Sheerness. A roofer's waste is trade waste and moves on a consignment note.
If the garage roof is your next job, our garage roof replacement service begins with that survey and with the test it recommends. The new covering is chosen after the result is known, not before.
Before 2000
HSE: if a building was built or refurbished before 2000, assume there is asbestos in it
A rule of thumb for older buildings
Which energy figure applies
Under Approved Document L (2021 edition), Table 4.2 gives roof windows a limit of 1.4 W/m²K, with Window Energy Rating Band B accepted instead, while 2.2 W/m²K is for rooflights alone. A roof window takes the window figure, never the rooflight one. That edition applies until 24 March 2027, when AD L 2026 takes effect for building work that is not higher-risk.
A roof window is also not a thermal element in the Regulations' terms, so the improved roof U-value in Table 4.3 concerns the insulation around it and not the glass. When we quote for a window, its rating goes on the paperwork and on the survey, so you can compare it against the figure. If a window is sound and only its seal or flashing has failed, replacing it is not the verdict, and the survey states that plainly.
Entry 03Roof windows
A new roof window: the rating to meet, and its flashing kit
A roof window is set in the slope with its own flashing kit. The energy figure that applies to it differs from the one for a rooflight.
1.4 W/m²K
AD L 2021 Table 4.2: the figure for roof windows, or WER Band B
Rooflights have their own figure
Window sound, flashing kit split
Refit the kit
Frame rotted, glass misted
Fit a new window
What we look at around the opening
- Whether the flashing kit suits the covering on the slope.
- The state of the lining and plasterboard inside, where a leak shows first.
- Whether the frame has rotted, or only the seal around it has failed.
- The loft space above, for damp timber and the underlay's lap over the frame.
A window on a side slope has conditions of its own, set out in our planning guide for roof work. The fitting itself, from the flashing kit to the lining, is described on our roof windows and skylights page.
Where a window is being added and not replaced, ask building control about the opening before the work is planned, as well as checking the energy figure. STG Building Control Partnership handles building control for Canterbury City Council, and a call to STG before the work is planned saves a change of design later.
Which of these three jobs is on your Hersden roof?
Photograph the garage, the slopes or the window you are unsure of, and send them over. A verdict for each comes back in writing before any price.
From Folkestone to Hersden
Hersden is 23.7 road miles north of Folkestone, about 35 minutes by road, and the 2021 Census counted 2,060 usual residents in the parish. A first look can start with a few photographs taken from the ground, from a bedroom window and from the loft. The survey is the next step, and one written total price comes after it. Where a garage roof is involved, we say at the first call that a test will come before any work is priced.
Sheeted garages, area names and roof windows: Hersden questions
Is a cement-sheet garage roof in Hersden safe to work on?
Not until it has been assessed. HSE advises assuming asbestos is present in a building built or refurbished before 2000, and describes asbestos cement roofs as fragile in every case. We survey with a ladder at the gutter line and from below, recommend a test, and set out the route the result allows. Sheeting removed whole is non-licensed work, while broken-up sheeting changes the category.
Does a Hersden home sit inside a conservation area?
The Westbere No.2 area and the Hoath, Rushbourne and Tile Lodge area are the nearest named ones. Canterbury City Council, whose district has 97 conservation areas, publishes a map, and the map decides your address. Re-covering a house normally falls under permitted development in both cases. Article 4 directions are the exception to ask about, and we put that question to Canterbury City Council before we price.
Does a scaffold in a Hersden street need a highway permit?
If it stands on or over the highway, yes. Kent County Council is the licensing body, and the skip or scaffolding company should submit the application for you, in its words. The 7-day permit from Kent County Council is £52 per week in 2026 to 2027. We arrange it with our scaffolder, and scaffolding standing only on your own drive or garden needs no highway permit.
Which body checks a re-roof in Hersden for the Building Regulations?
Canterbury City Council passes building control to STG Building Control Partnership, which you can reach on 01634 331133. A registered building control approver can also do the work. The Planning Portal's guide is the starting point for whether an application is needed: 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.
What energy rating must a new roof window in Hersden meet?
Table 4.2 of AD L 2021 limits a roof window to 1.4 W/m²K, with Window Energy Rating Band B accepted instead, and a rooflight alone to 2.2 W/m²K, until AD L 2026 takes effect on 24 March 2027. The rating is written on the quote, so you can compare it. The flashing kit and the lining are checked at the survey, and replacing a sound window is not recommended.
Can I take garage sheeting from my Hersden roof to the tip?
Kent County Council's recycling centres take a householder's own asbestos, apart from the one at Sheerness. It must be sealed with tape inside two layers of strong plastic, kept damp and declared as from your own home, with up to 5 sacks a month free. Sheeting handled by a roofer is trade waste on a consignment note. Asbestos goes in a lockable skip, and a standard skip does not qualify.
Tell us about the Hersden roof in a line
You'll get one written total price.