Clews Farm House
Clews Farm House has been Grade II* listed since 28 February 1955, with a Grade II barn nearby.
Roofers in Bisley
Roofs on the Bagshot Sands, from Clews Farm to the shooting ranges
Bisley is a small heath village beside the shooting ranges, with a Grade II* farmhouse among its listed buildings. Its roofs are surveyed slope by slope, then priced once.
Bisley's roofs, from farmhouse to heath-edge homes
The Holy Well
The Holy Well of St John the Baptist is listed Grade II, among four listed buildings within 500 m.
Heath-edge village
The village lies on heath between Chobham and Woking, next to the Bisley shooting ranges.
Map of Bisley with West End, Surrey Heath, Knaphill, Brookwood, Chobham marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Bisley, on the heath beside the shooting ranges
West End lies to the north, Knaphill to the south-east, Brookwood to the south, Chobham to the north-east, Lightwater to the north-west, and St John's to the south-east.
About 9.7 road miles east of Farnborough · Surrey Heath Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Tiles, flat roofs and gutters in Bisley
Bisley, Bagshot Sands and farm roofs
What the records say about Bisley's roofs
Which councils handle a Bisley roof job, what the Victoria County History says about one of Surrey's smallest parishes, and how Clews Farm's Grade II* listing and the nearby conservation areas bear on a repair.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bisley's planners, inspectors and highway | Surrey Heath plans; SHBCC inspects |
| 02 | One of Surrey's smallest parishes | 922 acres on the Bagshot Sands |
| 03 | A Grade II* farmhouse and the canal areas | Clews Farm House, Grade II* |
Chapter 01 of 03
Bisley's planners, inspectors and highway
| Role | Body for Bisley addresses |
|---|---|
| Planning authority | Surrey Heath Borough Council |
| Highway authority | Surrey County Council (until 31 March 2027) |
| Building control | Surrey Heath Building Control Consultancy (SHBCC) |
| Scaffold licence on the highway | Surrey County Council, 10 working days ahead |
Taking the A325 Farnborough Road as the start, Bisley is 9.7 road miles east of Farnborough. Its planning authority is Surrey Heath Borough Council, whose building control is carried out by SHBCC, and Surrey County Council licenses scaffold on its roads until the Surrey councils are replaced on 1 April 2027.
Size decides who inspects
Whether a roof job reaches SHBCC depends on its size. The Planning Portal's guide counts less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof as work that normally needs no application, so replacing tiles in one corner of a farmhouse roof stays outside, while re-covering the whole house does not. A new covering 15 per cent or more heavier brings approval and a structural check whatever the extent.
Weight matters more on an older frame. Roof timbers sized for one covering do not always suit a heavier one, which is why a structural check is advised before a change of covering and why the survey names both coverings side by side.
Older farm buildings can have large roofs, so the percentages need measuring and not estimating. We measure each slope and the whole roof on the survey and report the figures in writing, so you can see why a job did or did not need an application. A barn, a garage and a farmhouse on one plot are measured separately, because the test applies to each building, and each result is set out in the report in plain figures.
The figure25%envelope limit: below it, and below half the roof, no application is needed25% envelope cap50% roof capSource: Planning Portal, re-roofing guidance
Scaffold around the shooting ranges
Scaffold over a road or pavement requires a licence from Surrey County Council, which charges £208 per 28 day period and wants the form in at least 10 working days before the start. The council's page leaves the applicant unnamed, so we raise it with the scaffolder and report back. A scaffold in your own yard or garden needs no licence, and farm-style plots often have room for one.
Because the village lies beside the shooting ranges, we agree access and working hours with you and your neighbours at the survey, and you are told each day what has been done and what comes next. If the roof is leaking before that plan is agreed, the water is stopped first.
Chapter 02 of 03
One of Surrey's smallest parishes
Bisley in dates and numbers
- 922 acresparish area in 1911, on the Bagshot Sands
- 1890National Rifle Association based at Bisley since
- 1836Act inclosing the common fields; award in 1858
- 4,384residents, ONS Census 2021, Bisley parish
The 1911 Victoria County History called Bisley one of the smallest parishes in Surrey, of 922 acres on the Bagshot Sands, and noted that the National Rifle Association had been based there since 1890. The 2021 Census counted 4,384 usual residents in the civil parish.
Fields, farms and schools
The same history records that the common fields were inclosed by an Act of 1836, with the final award in 1858, and that Bisley Farm School opened in 1868 and the Shaftesbury School in 1873. A parish that was farmland and common until the middle of the 19th century can have farm buildings, outbuildings and houses from several periods standing close together, and the roofs differ in age and in covering.
Farm buildings often carry roofs that are large and plain, with long ridges and a verge at each gable. A long ridge puts many joints under strain, and the verge tiles at a gable take the weather. The survey lifts and records each. Our pitched roofing page explains how long slopes are surveyed. Outbuilding roofs, whether tile, sheet or felt, are surveyed too, because a leaking shed roof is still a leaking roof, and a farm plot may hold several.
Where a farm plot has more than one building, the survey sketch numbers every roof, the barn, the garage, the house and any lean-to, so the report can say which needs work and which does not. Sandy ground can shift under a ladder foot, so on a heath plot we plan the access with a firm base and say at the survey what will be used. On a large roof, that planning also decides how much of the slope can be examined in a visit, and the report states what was and was not reached.
Sand, leaves and drainage
However quickly the ground drains, a gutter blocked with heath litter still overflows onto the wall and the ground beneath. We check outlets and falls on each run, and Brett Martin's guidance of 1 mm of fall for every 600 mm of run is the yardstick. Where a barn or garage has a flat section, BS 6229:2025 keeps a minimum finished fall of 1:80, and a puddle that stays after rain is the first sign that the fall has been lost. Our flat roofing page explains how a flat roof is read.
Chapter 03 of 03
A Grade II* farmhouse and the canal areas
| Designation | Near Bisley | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Grade II* listed | Clews Farm House (NHLE 1030065) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Grade II listed | Barn South East of Clews Farm House (NHLE 1377495) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Grade II listed | Holy Well of St John the Baptist (NHLE 1030066) | Listed building consent for work affecting character |
| Conservation areas, nearest | Bisley Camp, Basingstoke Canal, Brookwood Cemetery | Check which council covers the address |
| Article 4 direction (2007) | Checked by address with Surrey Heath | Shows whether a roof right has been withdrawn |
Four listed buildings stand within 500 m of the village point on the National Heritage List. Clews Farm House has been listed Grade II* since 28 February 1955 (NHLE 1030065), which places it in the upper tier of listing; a Grade II barn to its south-east (NHLE 1377495) and the Holy Well of St John the Baptist (NHLE 1030066) are also Grade II.
Listed farm buildings and conservation areas
A listed building needs listed building consent before work that changes its character, and a Grade II* farmhouse is one where the right fix keeps the old fabric: matched tiles, reused where sound, battens renewed where they have failed and flashings in lead of the right code. Lead sheet is sold in numbered codes by thickness, and our lead roofing page explains which suits a flashing or a valley. Work on such a roof follows a plan agreed with the council in advance.
On a farmhouse the survey photographs the ridge, each hip and valley, the chimney stack, the verge and the eaves from a safe position, with a note on the covering material, so the consent conversation can start from images and not from memory.
The national dataset names the nearest conservation areas, within about 2.5 km, as Bisley Camp, the Basingstoke Canal and Brookwood Cemetery. Guildford Borough Council's historic environment list includes Bisley Camp among its conservation areas, though Bisley village itself is Surrey Heath's, so we confirm the council for your address before asking any planning question.
Article 4, asked by address
An Article 4 direction takes away named permitted development rights inside a mapped boundary. Surrey Heath's planning team can say whether one touches a given Bisley house, and we put that question to the council before we price a repair.
The same address check covers the barn and the well: a listed outbuilding on a plot changes the consent position for that building only, and the house beside it is judged on its own record. The result of every check is written into your report, so you see it before work is booked. If the barn is listed and the house is not, the consent route differs between them, and the report says which building each step applies to.
Bisley roof questions, from long barn roofs to listings
How do you survey a long barn or farm outbuilding roof at Bisley?
We measure the whole roof first, then walk each slope, lifting a sample where the surface hides the condition. Long ridges and gable verges are photographed along their length, and gutter outlets are checked for blockage. The percentages for the Planning Portal's test come from the measurements, so you see them in the report.
Does Clews Farm's Grade II* listing mean neighbours need consent for roof repairs?
No. A listing applies to the building itself, and work that changes its character needs listed building consent. Neighbouring houses are not affected by it alone. We check each address on the National Heritage List and the council's map before pricing, and the result is written into your report, so you see it first.
Which council covers a Bisley house near the Bisley Camp conservation area?
Surrey Heath Borough Council is the planning authority for Bisley, while Bisley Camp appears on Guildford's list of conservation areas, so we confirm the council for your address before any planning question is asked. The conservation areas named nearby are checked by address, and the answer goes in writing before work is booked.
Who files the scaffold licence on a Bisley road?
Surrey County Council licenses scaffold on its roads and pavements at £208 per 28 day period, with the form in at least 10 working days ahead. The page leaves the applicant unnamed, so we raise it with the scaffolder and report the answer. A scaffold inside your own yard needs no licence.
Around Bisley: West End, Knaphill and Brookwood
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