Former garrison land
Wokingham records the former Arborfield Garrison and Hogwood Farm sites becoming a new village of up to 3,500 homes.
Roofers in Arborfield Green
Roofs on a new village built over the old garrison
Arborfield Green is a new village on former Arborfield Garrison land. We survey recent roofs for what the builder left, and what weather has since found.
A garrison site turned into a village
The northern phase
The part now called Arborfield Green has permission for 2,000 houses, a district centre and a village square.
Moat House, listed Grade II
Moat House was listed Grade II in 2014, so a roof on it follows the listed building consent route.
Map of Arborfield Green with Arborfield, Barkham, Eversley, Finchampstead marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Arborfield Green, south of Arborfield Cross
Arborfield Green stands in Barkham parish, south of Arborfield Cross, with Farnborough 12.7 road miles to the south-east, counted from the A325.
About 12.7 road miles north-west of Farnborough · Wokingham Borough Council (unitary).
Ways we look after Arborfield Green roofs
Arborfield Green, new-build facts
Looking after a roof in a young village
How Wokingham's licences and building control work for a new-village roof, what the council records about the garrison site and its new homes, and which listings and flood facts still matter.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Wokingham's rules for a new-village roof | Wokingham: planning, licence, BCS control |
| 02 | From garrison to district centre | Up to 3,500 homes planned |
| 03 | Moat House, the cross and the flood map | Moat House listed Grade II in 2014 |
Chapter 01 of 03
Wokingham's rules for a new-village roof
| Part of the job | Body for Arborfield Green |
|---|---|
| Planning and highways | Wokingham Borough Council |
| Building control | Building Control Solutions, with West Berkshire |
| Scaffold licence | Wokingham Borough Council; the scaffold firm applies |
| Civil parish | Barkham |
| Distance from Farnborough | 12.7 road miles north-west, measured from the A325 |
Arborfield Green belongs to Wokingham Borough Council, a unitary authority, so one council covers planning and the roads. Building control for Wokingham is supplied by Building Control Solutions, a partnership between West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council. The village lies 12.7 road miles from Farnborough, measured from the A325, and is in the civil parish of Barkham.
Re-roofing and the threshold
Wokingham's pages name no re-roofing percentage, so the Planning Portal's test applies. A re-roof that touches under 25 per cent of the building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof does not normally need an application. On a new-build house, that rarely comes up, because the roofs are young. What does come up is a repair after a storm, a slipped ridge, a leaking valley, or a flat roof over a bay or porch that has not been detailed well. Those are repairs, not re-roofs, and they sit well under the threshold.
Scaffold licences in Wokingham
Wokingham Borough Council's licensing page puts the form in the scaffolding company's hands, on the customer's behalf, so it is not yours to complete. It asks for a minimum of 10 working days between applying and the proposed start date, and charges £263 for the first 4 weeks and £163 for each 4-week period after that. It adds that you do not need a licence to place scaffolding on private roads. The footway must stay at least 1.2 metres wide.
The figure4weekscovered by Wokingham's first scaffold licence fee, with each further period charged again4 weeks per periodSource: Wokingham Borough Council scaffold and hoarding licences page, last updated 7 April 2026
That private-road point is worth checking in a new village. Some new estates have roads that are adopted by the council as public highway, and others stay private for a time or permanently. Whether your road is one or the other decides whether a licence is needed, and the answer sits in your own paperwork or with Wokingham's highways team. We ask at the survey and plan accordingly.
If your home is recent, check your paperwork before arranging any repair. Some defects may fall to the builder or to a warranty, and a repair done first by someone else can complicate that. We are glad to photograph a fault and write it up so that you can send it to whoever is responsible.
Chapter 02 of 03
From garrison to district centre
The garrison site and its new village, in four numbers
- 3,500homes planned across the garrison and Hogwood Farm sites
- 2,000houses permitted in the northern part, Arborfield Green
- 2016year Bohunt School took its first pupils
- 1923year an army remount depot is recorded in Barkham
Wokingham Borough Council describes the former Arborfield Garrison and the Hogwood Farm sites as being developed into a new village of up to 3,500 homes. The northern part, now commonly known as Arborfield Green, has permission for 2,000 houses, a district centre and a village square. Bohunt School took its first pupils in September 2016, the borough's first new secondary school in more than half a century, and a Ministry of Defence gym has permission to become a community centre.
An older military history
The site's army link is not new. In 1923 the Victoria County History recorded part of Barkham parish as occupied by the War Office as an army remount depot. So the land under today's estate roads and gardens has a long record of army use.
Building work often continues around a new street for years. Dust, mortar droppings and offcuts can land in neighbouring valleys and gutter outlets, so early surveys check them.
What young roofs need
New roofs rarely fail all at once. They show small problems early: a ridge tile bedded with too little mortar, a lead flashing dressed too tight, a valley with debris from the build, a gutter outlet set a little off. Those are cheap to put right while they are small, and expensive once water has been through a ceiling. A survey in the first years can find them, photograph them and tell you whether they are a matter for the builder or for a roofer.
Many modern estate roofs use dry-fixed ridge, hip and verge systems, which are tested to BS 8612. Since the 2014 revision of BS 5534, mortar by itself is no longer trusted to hold ridge and hip tiles on, and dry-fix is one answer. When we repair one we use fixings that match the system on your roof, and we record which system it is, so that a later repair can do the same.
Scale of the village
3,500homes planned across the whole development
2,000houses permitted in the northern part
For an NHBC Buildmark home, the builder's warranty and NHBC guarantee run for two years from completion, and eight further years of insurance cover defects in certain parts of the home. Whether your home carries it is a question for your own documents. Our flat roofing page covers the low roofs over bays, porches and garages found on new estates.
Chapter 03 of 03
Moat House, the cross and the flood map
| Item | Near Arborfield Green | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Grade II listed | Moat House (NHLE 1419613), listed 28 July 2014 | Listed building consent |
| Conservation area | Arborfield Cross, on Wokingham's list | Check the council's map |
| Flood Zone 2 | Parts within about 250 m of the centre | Keep roof drainage clear |
For a village this new, Arborfield Green has few heritage controls, but they are not absent. Moat House is listed Grade II (NHLE 1419613), first listed on 28 July 2014. Any roof work on it that would affect its character needs listed building consent from Wokingham Borough Council, on top of anything else. Like-for-like repairs are the least likely to alter character, and clear photographs of the roof as it stands are the best support for a request.
The conservation area at Arborfield Cross
Wokingham lists a conservation area at Arborfield Cross, to the north of Arborfield Green. We do not assume which side of that boundary an address falls on. If your home is near the Cross, we check with Wokingham Borough Council before a survey, so we know whether any extra care applies to the look of the roof.
The practical advice for any owner of a new home is to keep a small file: the handover pack, the warranty papers, and dated photographs of the roof. If a defect appears, that file shortens every conversation that follows, whether with a builder, a warranty provider, an insurer or us.
Water and the roof
The Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning places parts of the land within about 250 m of the centre of Arborfield Green in Flood Zone 2. That is a planning map, not a forecast for any house, and it says nothing about your roof directly. It does remind us that roof water has to be carried away properly. Gutters, downpipes and drains in a new estate are often fine at handover and then silt up with building dust, leaves and moss. We clear and test them at the survey, and we photograph the result.
Flat roofs over garages, porches and bays are a second point to watch. They are small, easy to forget, and they hold water if the fall is wrong. BS 6229:2025 sets a finished minimum fall of 1:80 for a flexible-membrane flat roof, and we measure against it with a level, not by eye.
Recent building does not mean a roof is beyond age-related care. A good survey now creates a baseline, and a second one a few years on shows what has changed. Our gutters, soffits and fascias page explains how roofline parts are repaired when they start to fail.
Arborfield Green roof questions, from warranties to flat roofs
My Arborfield Green house is only a few years old and the ridge has a crack: who should fix it?
Look at your paperwork first, because a builder warranty or NHBC Buildmark cover may apply to a young roof. Buildmark gives two years of builder warranty and NHBC guarantee from completion, plus eight further years of insurance for certain parts of the home. We photograph the fault so you can send it to the right party.
Do dry-fixed ridge tiles on a new roof need different repairs from mortared ones?
Yes, because dry systems are tested to BS 8612 and rely on mechanical fixings, not mortar alone. A repair should match the system on your roof, with the right clips and fixings. Marley notes that BS 5534 is not itself a legal requirement, but mortar alone is no longer trusted for ridges and hips.
Who applies for scaffold on an adopted Arborfield Green road?
Wokingham Borough Council puts the licence application with the scaffolding company, on the customer's behalf, and wants at least 10 working days between applying and the proposed start. The fee is £263 for 4 weeks. If your road is private, no licence is needed, so we check your road's status first and tell you.
Is Moat House covered by the same roof rules as a new-build home?
No. Moat House is listed Grade II, so work affecting its character needs listed building consent from Wokingham Borough Council, which a new-build home does not need. A like-for-like repair is the least likely to alter character, but the council decides. We would record the roof carefully before any work was proposed.
Wokingham's villages around Arborfield Green
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Survey a young Arborfield Green roof
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10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.