CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION
As the housing stock in the City ages, more and more home owners are having to carry out regular repairs to their roofs or to consider complete re-roofing. The original roofing material used in the City was grey slate, with grey, red or sometimes green tiles introduced later in the twentieth century. There was generally uniformity of roofing material with the continuous rooflines of tenements and terraced houses all roofed in the same material of the same colour. In certain parts of the City a mixture of colour was used for roofs within a street, although each half of a semi-detached or a 4-in-a-block always matched its neighbour. As older properties are increasingly re-roofed, a patchwork of different materials and different colours is appearing on roofs across the City. As well as destroying the uniformity which characterises the City’s streets, the appearance of individual properties can be ruined by the use of e.g. red tiles on one half of a semi-detached with grey slates remaining on the other.
This policy is aimed at gradually restoring consistency in roofing materials by the choice of materials which blend in with the established pattern of roofing material in the street.
For information relating to the re-roofing of listed buildings or properties within a conservation area, see policy HER 3: Design Standards for Listed Buildings and Properties in Conservation Areas.
REQUIREMENT FOR PLANNING PERMISSION
Planning permission is required where any roofing material used would materially affect the external appearance of the property and for properties within a conservation area.
Permission is, therefore, required for:
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a change in colour of roofing material e.g. from grey to red;
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a change in profile of roofing material e.g. from slate to a profiled tile; and
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re-roofing works of any dwellinghouse (see Definition) in a conservation area.
This means that no planning permission is required for a change from grey slate to a flat grey tile, except in a conservation area.
If a planning application is required, the following standards should be met.
POLICY
Although slate is considered the best material both in terms of appearance and durability, the use of tiles or artificial slates will be considered acceptable, subject to the standards set out below.
1. STONE-BUILT TENEMENTS
These properties should be re-roofed with either slate or flat grey tiles. Ideally a small tile should be chosen to replicate the appearance of a slate roof and ensure continuity of appearance in the street block.
2. POST-WAR FLATTED PROPERTY
Most of these properties have either slated or tiled roofs.
If the flatted property is part of a street block, then any re-roofing should match the colour of the original roof covering in the block.
Free-standing blocks of flats may use a tile of colour or profile different from the original.
3. DETACHED HOUSES
A tile of colour or profile different from the original may be used, although it would be preferable to match original materials.
4. SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES AND 4-IN-A-BLOCKS
These buildings, although containing two or four homes respectively, usually have a shared roof with no external division between the properties. Replacement of one side of the roof should be designed to blend in with the other side.
The first owner to re-roof should match the colour of the original roof. This will usually be grey but, in certain areas of the City, will have been red, although this may have weathered down to a dark colour. In such circumstances, a subdued colour may be chosen as an alternative to the original colour.
Subsequent re-roofing of the rest of the building should match the colour and profile of the half already re-roofed.
5. TERRACED HOUSES
The first house in a terrace to be re-roofed should match the colour of the original roofs or else use a tile in a subdued colour.
Subsequent houses to be re-roofed should match exactly the colour and profile of the tile used on the first re-roofed property.
6. RIDGE TILES
In some areas, contrasting ridge or hip tiles were used, e.g. red on a grey slate roof. This pattern should be replicated on the new roof.
7. PORCH ROOFS
When replacing an original porch roof the current colour should be matched. This is likely to be dark grey or dark brown to match weathered red tiles. Small tiles are preferable to large tiles on porch roofs.
DEFINITION
DWELLING HOUSE
Does not include a building containing one or more flats, or a flat contained within such a building. (Source: The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992).