Legislation & Planning

As a rule listed building consent will be required to any thatching works that:

• Change in the form or shape (including inserting a dormer) of the roof and/or ridge.
• Removal of the entire thatch.
• Change the method i.e. between long straw, combed wheat reed and water reed of the thatched roof, including the ridge and spar-coats.
• Change in style of the thatched roof, including the ridge.
• Change in material of the thatched roof, including the ridge and spar-coats. This includes a change from long straw to combed wheat reed; botanically identical, but prepared differently.
• Removal of materials which is clearly of archaeological or historical importance e.g. smoke-blackened thatch.
• Other categories may be added to protect local techniques e.g. the use of fixings.

It is the responsibility of the building owner to justify any proposal of these changes. Therefore it is beneficial that the owner works with their thatcher to liaise with the local authority, so that if required, these can be explained and discussed. Supporting information that may be relevant includes:

• A brief history of the building, with reference to the thatch.
• Evidence of the nature and provenance of thatching materials previously used and proposed.
• A method statement and drawings of proposed works.
• Reference to local authority guidance documents.

In March 2012, the Government published the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This is a key part of Government reforms to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, to protect the environment and to promote sustainable growth. This supersedes Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment (PPS5) as Government Policy on the management of change to the Historic Environment in England. Please note, the PPS5 Practice Guide remains a valid and Government endorsed document pending the results of a review of guidance supporting national planning policy. The references to PPS5 policies in this document are obviously now redundant, but the policies in the NPPF are very similar and the intent is the same, so the Practice Guide remains almost entirely relevant and useful in the application of the NPPF.

› Here is a link to the document: PPS5 Practice Guide 

Item 165, p.45 of this document states:

“Replacement of one material by another, for example on roofs, may result in a loss of significance and will in those cases need clear justification. Therefore, while the replacement of an inappropriate and non-original material is likely to be easily justified, more justification will be needed for changes from one type of thatch, slate or tile to another. For thatch, for example, preserving the covering on multi-layered roofs, particularly where the bottom layer is smoke-blackened, is likely to be necessary in order to maintain the historic and archaeological significance of the building. Only the top coat may need to be replaced. Following the type and form of thatch traditional to the region with local ways of detailing eaves, ridges and verges will sustain the building’s significance. English Heritage has published specific guidance on thatching: Thatch and Thatching: A Guidance Note (English Heritage, 2000)”.

› Click here to link to English Heritage’s Thatch and Thatching Guidance Note.

The Government’s key method of regulating energy use in buildings is through the Building Regulations, which set minimum standards for new work on a property. Part L covers building regulations requirements with respect to Conservation of fuel and power.

Building Regulations only apply to new building work and there is no general requirement for all existing buildings to be upgraded to meet these standards. However, certain material alterations, such as changing the use or renewing parts of a building can trigger the need to comply with Building Regulations.

English Heritage has published a series of guidance notes to help prevent conflicts between the requirements of Part L and the conservation of historic and traditionally constructed buildings. If or manage a listed building or scheduled monument or a building within a conservation area you may be limited in the scope of energy improvement works you can carry out, particularly if these are changes that might affect the external appearance of the building.

› Click here to see the list of publications, including those that relate to thatch 

With regards thatch this includes:

• Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: Insulating thatched roofs 
• Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: Open fires, chimneys and flues