Cheddleton rooflights for two quite different halves of the village

Cheddleton skylights and rooflights, from the old village to St Edward's Park

Cheddleton is split between the traditional village and a modern estate on the old hospital grounds. The two ask different things of a rooflight, so we begin with the roof, the room and the person who will use it.

Cheddleton and Caldon Canal conservation areas checked with the Moorlands council first
St Edward's Park lofts: window fitted to a concrete tile roof
Converted hospital buildings: the listed question answered before the quote

29 road miles south of Stockport

Cheddleton is a village of about 4,000 people in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and it is divided into two distinct communities. One is the traditional village. The other is a modern Redrow development at St Edward's Park, built on the grounds of the old St Edward's Psychiatric Hospital. The old hospital buildings that are listed have been renovated in many cases, and the water tower now serves as a private dwelling. The village itself goes back to the Domesday Book, and its parish church of St Edward the Confessor dates from the 13th century, with a major restoration in 1863-64. Cheddleton Flint Mill, a Grade II* listed building, stands along the Caldon Canal.

New-build estates by volume housebuilders typically carry concrete interlocking tiles. We survey the estate and the traditional village alike. The questions that matter day to day are the same: who opens the window, what the blind will be, and how the outside of the glass is kept clear. Then a fixed written quote follows.

Rooflights for the village and the estate

Lofts on the new estate, older roofs in the village and flat extensions all find a match among these five. Each page describes the opening, the blind and the cleaning.

A dining room with a long oak table under a flat rooflight, French doors open to the garden

Living under one in Cheddleton

A new-build loft window can sit within reach. A taller room in a converted building may need a remote or a rod.
A loft bedroom wants blackout. A lantern over a family room may only need a light pleated blind for bright afternoons.
If trees overhang your roof, leaves gather on flat glass. We say how you will reach it before you choose.
Our survey looks at the roof, the room and who uses it. A fixed written quote follows.

Cheddleton roofs, old and new

A modern estate on the hospital grounds, converted buildings, a canal and an old village centre. Here are the four questions that come up when we survey in Cheddleton.

We bought on the St Edward's Park estate. Which window suits our loft?

St Edward's Park is a modern development, and new-build estates by volume housebuilders typically carry concrete interlocking tiles. That helps. A roof window for a tiled slope uses a flashing kit made for the covering, and the work is well understood. What is left is what you want from the room.

Pick it for the person in the room

A loft bedroom wants blackout and an opening you can work from bed or from the door. A study wants a blind that cuts screen glare. A child's room may want a window with a restrictor and a handle out of a small child's reach. Our guide to roof windows for loft conversions goes through the sizes and positions.

Glass and comfort

Roof glass faces the sky, so it gains heat in summer and loses it in winter. A blind or solar control glass helps in a hot loft. Condensation can appear on the inner pane on a cold morning, and the condensation guide explains why and what to do about it.

Your builder's paperwork

On a newer estate, permitted development rights may have been removed by a condition on the original planning permission, so we check with the council first.

Rain and an empty house

If the house is empty through the working day, ask about a rain sensor. VELUX supplies one on its electric and solar roof windows, and it closes the sash when drops reach the glass. The rain sensor guide explains what it will and will not do.

We deal with the Building Regulations notification for the work we do, whenever one is needed.

A loft on the estate

Roof: Concrete interlocking tiles
Window: Roof window with a tile flashing kit
Opening: Handle if low, remote if high
Blind: Blackout for a bedroom
Glass: Double glazed, with solar control if hot

Our home is in one of the converted hospital buildings. What changes for a rooflight?

Many of the old listed buildings from the hospital at St Edward's Park have been renovated. The water tower is now a private dwelling. If your home was converted from one, two things shape a rooflight before anything else: whether the building is listed, and what the existing roof allows.

Listed or not

On a listed building, listed building consent is almost always needed for a new or altered rooflight, and that consent decides the job. The guide on listed homes explains the route. We check your address with the district council before we quote, so you do not find out afterwards.

Tall rooms, high windows

A converted building may have tall rooms, and a window set in a high roof is not easy to reach. Choose the opening method with the window. A rod does for one you seldom open. A remote or solar motor makes more sense for a daily window, and a blind should run from the same control. Our guide to electric or solar opening compares them.

Light at the middle of the plan

Conversions sometimes leave a stair or a corridor without a window. A rooflight over it can help, and a sun tunnel is often the smaller job where a window will not fit. The same questions about daily use apply: what you want from it, and who will clean the outside. In a corridor, a window is not always the right answer, because you want light there but not necessarily an opening sash. Our guide to which rooms suit a sun tunnel lists the rooms where the smaller job is enough.

Before you choose

Find out whether the building is listed first. Everything about the design follows from the answer.

We live near the Caldon Canal. Will leaves and damp make the glass hard to keep clear?

The Caldon Canal conservation area was designated in 1996. Cheddleton Flint Mill, which stands along it, is a Grade II* listed building, and so are the mill cottages beside it. That is a setting that people love and want to see from an upstairs window, and the quiet water and trees bring their own questions about glass.

Leaves and droppings

If trees overhang your roof, leaves, seeds and bird droppings land on flat glass and stay there. A pitched roof window sheds more of it. A flat rooflight or lantern holds it. Neither is a problem if you plan to reach the glass, and we say plainly at the survey how that will work on your roof.

Damp air

Water nearby does not change how a modern double-glazed unit performs. Condensation forms on the inside when warm, damp air meets a cold pane, which happens in kitchens and bathrooms everywhere. A window that opens, or a way to ventilate the room, is the answer. In a bathroom a window above the shower is the simple fix, and a switch beside the door makes it a habit rather than a chore. In a kitchen, wipe the inside of the glass when you wipe the worktop, and the problem seldom grows.

Looking out

Set the window so you see the view from where you sit or stand. Our guide to centre-pivot or top-hung windows shows how each type turns, and which lets you wipe the outer pane from inside.

By the water

Plan how the outside glass will be reached before you pick the type, because a lovely view turns to smeared glass quickly.

Part of Cheddleton is a conservation area. Does that change what we can fit?

Planning.data.gov.uk records conservation areas in Cheddleton that include Cheddleton itself, designated in 1970, and the Caldon Canal, designated in 1996. Under English rules the designation does not by itself remove the permitted right to add a rooflight. We check your address with Staffordshire Moorlands District Council before we quote, because a condition on an earlier planning permission can change the position.

The old buildings

Historic England lists buildings in the village. Among them are the Church of St Edward the Confessor, the South Mill to Cheddleton Flint Mill and two mill cottages, all at Grade II*, and the Red Lion Inn and Grange Farmhouse at Grade II. If your own house is listed, listed building consent is almost always part of the job for a new or altered rooflight.

A rooflight that suits older roofs

On an older roof, a conservation rooflight lies flush and often has a slim central bar. From the lane it looks like part of the roof. In daily use it opens like any other window, so the same questions of reach, blind and cleaning apply. The guide to choosing a conservation rooflight covers the choices.

The general position

For most houses a rooflight is usually permitted development within limits set out in the planning guide. Read it before you fix where the window goes.

Words from the planning page

Conservation status: Land the council has marked for its character. Alone, it does not remove the permitted rooflight right.
Grade II*: A listing grade for a particularly important building.
Listed-home consent: Consent to change a listed building.

Surveys across both halves of Cheddleton

Cheddleton

The 30-mile survey area we cover includes Cheddleton.

Does your Cheddleton postcode qualify?

Cheddleton is 29 road miles south of Stockport. We survey the old village, the canal-side lanes and the St Edward's Park estate, so enter your postcode to check and book.

Nearest town pages

Cheddleton householders ask

Which council handles planning in Cheddleton?

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Sign-off under the Building Regulations can come from its building control team or from a registered building control approver, and we explain each route.

Is a lantern allowed on a new-build extension?

On a new extension, the lantern is assessed with the extension; we confirm the position with the council before work starts. One added to an existing roof usually needs a planning application. See lantern planning and the planning guide.

Do you fit a rooflight to a flat-roofed garage conversion?

Usually. The rooflight sits on an upstand built into the flat roof. If the garage is becoming a living room, the whole conversion comes under the Building Regulations, so the rooflight is chosen to suit that.

Is a roof window cold in winter?

A modern double-glazed roof window is built to deal with it, and a blind adds comfort. Condensation on a cold morning is common and is covered in our condensation guide.

Does the old village need a different type of window from the estate?

The window can be the same make. The roof covering differs, so the flashing kit and the way it is fitted change. We check the covering from outside and the rafters from the loft before we choose a size, and we pick the opening to suit the room.

Who cleans the outside of a lantern?

You do, or a window cleaner with the right access. We agree at the survey how the glass will be reached, and some makers offer a coating that helps it stay clear.

Free survey

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Tell us about the room and the roof. We visit, measure and send a fixed written quote for the job in Cheddleton.

Fixed written quote
We handle the Building Regulations notification where the work is notifiable
10-year workmanship guarantee

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