The old church, Sandy Chapel
St George's has a stone chancel and nave, the rest red brick, with a shingled bell-turret on the west gable.
Roofers in Esher
Roofs on the Bagshot sand rise above the Mole valley
Esher stands on the only considerable rise of Bagshot sand east of the Mole valley, with a Grade I old church and Claremont, where Vanbrugh once built a house. We read each roof closely.
Esher's Sandy Chapel, Waynflete gatehouse and Claremont
Bishop Waynflete's gatehouse
Waynflete built a stately brick mansion on the Mole's banks in Esher Park; its gatehouse survives and bears his name.
Vanbrugh at Claremont
Claremont, once part of the manor of Esher Episcopi, was bought by Vanbrugh, who built a small house there.
Map of Esher with West End, Elmbridge, Claygate, Hersham, Thames Ditton marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Esher, on the old Portsmouth road
West End lies south-west of Esher, Claygate south-east, Hersham west, Thames Ditton north-east, East Molesey and West Molesey north, and Oxshott to the south.
About 26.3 road miles east of Farnborough · Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Esher, VAT and old roofs
Esher's roofs: VAT, insulation and a Grade I church
What VAT and the insulation rules mean for an Esher re-roof, what the 1911 history records about Sandy Chapel, Waynflete's gatehouse and Claremont, and how listings and the conservation area shape a repair.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | VAT, insulation and the Regulations on a re-roof | Zero-rated insulation until 31 March 2027 |
| 02 | Sandy Chapel, a mansion gatehouse and Claremont | Esher on the only rise of Bagshot sand |
| 03 | A Grade I church and Esher's High Street listings | 40 listed buildings within 900 m |
Chapter 01 of 03
VAT, insulation and the Regulations on a re-roof
VAT and insulation rules in four published figures
- 20%the standard rate of VAT
- 31 March 2027last day of the zero rate on energy-saving installations
- 5%reduced rate on those installations from 1 April 2027
- 0.16roof U-value goal when renovating an existing roof
An Esher re-roof raises two questions beyond the covering itself: what VAT applies, and what the insulation rules ask of the work. The standard rate of VAT is 20 per cent. GOV.UK's guidance on energy-saving materials gives a zero rate for installations made between 1 May 2023 and 31 March 2027, reverting to a reduced rate of 5 per cent from 1 April 2027. The domestic reverse charge, which operates between VAT-registered businesses within the Construction Industry Scheme, never applies to a homeowner paying a roofer.
What the Regulations ask of insulation
Approved Document L, Volume 1, applies when an existing roof is renovated, and renovation covers adding a layer or swapping an existing one. Its Table 4.3 gives 0.35 as the threshold U-value for a roof, and 0.16 as the improved figure, in W/(m²·K). Where reaching that is not technically or functionally feasible, paragraph 4.13 allows the best upgrade that is feasible within a 15-year payback. For roof windows the figure is the window one, 1.4 or Window Energy Rating Band B, and rooflights have a figure of their own.
The figure5%reduced VAT rate on energy-saving installations from 1 April 20275% from April 202720% standard rateSource: GOV.UK, VAT on energy-saving materials (Notice 708/6) and VAT rates
From 24 March 2027 a 2026 edition of Approved Document L takes effect in England, with the same figures in renumbered Tables 3.2 and 3.3, so the timing of an Esher project matters for the rules as well as the VAT, and the survey report states which edition applies. Our roof replacement page explains how insulation is handled during a re-roof, and our roof windows and skylights page covers the window figures.
Quotes, councils and scaffold
Ask every roofer whether the price includes VAT and the scaffold. A total price should say so in plain words. In Esher, planning belongs to Elmbridge Borough Council, building control to Elmbridge Building Control Services, which acts for the council, and the highway to Surrey County Council until 31 March 2027, when its work passes, with Elmbridge's, to East Surrey Council. A registered building control approver is the private alternative for any application.
If you plan to renew insulation in the loft at the same time as the covering, tell us at the first call. The survey will measure the existing depth and condition, note any cold spots or damp at the eaves, and report on what the Regulations would ask, so you can set that cost beside the VAT position before committing to a date.
Chapter 02 of 03
Sandy Chapel, a mansion gatehouse and Claremont
| Subject | What the history records |
|---|---|
| The old church of St George | Known as Sandy Chapel: stone chancel and western nave, the rest red brick, with a shingled bell-turret on the west gable |
| The ground | Esher village and most of the parish sit on the only considerable rise of Bagshot sand east of the Mole valley |
| Esher Park | Bishop Waynflete built a stately brick mansion on the banks of the Mole; its gatehouse survives and bears his name |
| Claremont | Originally part of the manor of Esher Episcopi, bought by Sir John Vanbrugh, who built himself a small house there |
In 1911 the Victoria County History of Surrey described the old church of St George, known locally as Sandy Chapel, as having a stone chancel and western nave, the rest in red brick, and a shingled bell-turret on the west gable. It said Esher village and most of the parish sit on the only considerable rise of Bagshot sand east of the Mole valley.
A bishop's gatehouse and Vanbrugh's house
Bishop Waynflete built a stately brick mansion on the banks of the Mole in Esher Park, and its gatehouse survives and bears his name. Claremont, originally part of the manor of Esher Episcopi, was bought by Sir John Vanbrugh, who built a small house for himself there and began to lay out the grounds. The history does not say how these buildings are roofed, so the entries are background and no guide to any roof today.
What the entries do show is Esher's layers: a church with an old nave, a bishop's brick gatehouse, a house built for Vanbrugh and the town that grew round them. Roofs of different centuries sit close together, and each calls for its own approach. A brick gatehouse and a stucco house need different checks, and neither resembles a modern estate house. Our pitched roofing page describes the repairs we make to tiles, ridges and valleys once we know what is on a slope.
The shingled bell-turret on Sandy Chapel is a reminder that church roofs can use materials a house never sees. For a house, the working materials are tile, slate, lead, felt and the timbers beneath, and the survey names each. Whatever the soil, a gutter that spills onto a wall causes damp, so we follow each downpipe to its gully and record what we find, and we clear leaves from the valleys we can reach.
If you own a building in Esher with an old or unusual roof, send us the address, a few lines on its age and, if you have them, earlier survey reports. We will check the national list and the council's maps before the visit, so that the survey starts from what is known and the visit is spent on the roof itself.
A town on a main road also brings traffic, parking and passers-by close to a scaffold. We note the pavement width, the nearest loading point and any bus stop or crossing, and we plan the layout and the delivery days so that the scaffold stands where it causes least disruption.
Chapter 03 of 03
A Grade I church and Esher's High Street listings
Esher's heritage in four published figures
- 40listed buildings within 900 m of the centre
- Grade ISt George's, in Churches Conservation Trust care
- Grade IIHigh Street and Milbourne Lane houses
- 0.75 kmradius within which the Esher conservation area lies
The Esher conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the town centre, and the national list records 40 listed buildings within 900 m. Elmbridge's conservation map shows whether your street is inside the area, and its planners can say whether an Article 4 direction applies to it. Within a conservation area the planning order removes permitted development for dormers, so a roof extension becomes an application, and a visible change to a roof deserves a conversation with the council before it is priced.
St George's and the High Street
The old Church of St George holds a Grade I listing and is vested in the Churches Conservation Trust, so the ecclesiastical exemption does not cover it and roof work needs listed building consent from Elmbridge. Numbers 136 and 138 High Street, number 77 High Street and numbers 76 and 78 Milbourne Lane are each listed Grade II. If work would change a listed house's character, listed building consent is required, and the council is asked before we give a price.
Unlisted houses nearby
Where a house is not listed, section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 means that a repair leaving its outward appearance materially unchanged is not development. A repair that copies the roof as it is counts as the plain case, and the survey pictures record the roof as it was. A different covering, a taller stack or a larger opening is where the question begins. Our planning permission for roof work guide sets out the national rules.
In a town centre, shops, flats and houses share walls and roofs. A flat carries no permitted development rights, so only a like-for-like replacement escapes a planning application, and a freeholder or managing agent usually holds the roof. Tell us at the first call what you own, because it decides who commissions the work and who must be told.
Where a roof is shared with a neighbour, a party wall surveyor, not building control, deals with disputes about the wall, and cutting away a chimney breast needs two months' notice. We mark any such point in the report, with pictures, so that the conversation with a neighbour starts from the same facts as ours.
Esher roof questions, from VAT to Sandy Chapel
Is a new Esher roof with extra insulation zero-rated for VAT?
Installing energy-saving materials is zero-rated for installations made between 1 May 2023 and 31 March 2027, according to GOV.UK, then at 5 per cent from 1 April 2027. The rest of a re-roof is standard-rated at 20 per cent. Ask the roofer to say in writing what the price includes.
What U-value must insulation reach when an Esher roof is renovated?
Approved Document L's Table 4.3 gives a threshold of 0.35 for a roof, improved to 0.16, in W/(m²·K). If that is not technically or functionally feasible, paragraph 4.13 allows the best feasible upgrade within a 15-year payback. A 2026 edition applies from 24 March 2027, so timing matters.
Does St George's Church in Esher need listed building consent?
Yes. The old church of St George is listed Grade I and vested in the Churches Conservation Trust, so the ecclesiastical exemption does not apply and roof work needs Elmbridge's listed building consent. The same goes for listed houses such as those on High Street, and we raise it with Elmbridge before any price is given.
Can I add a dormer to my Esher house inside the conservation area?
It would need a planning application to Elmbridge, because the planning order withdraws the usual allowance for dormers inside such an area. Our planning guide explains the national rules, and Elmbridge's map and planners confirm whether your own address falls inside, before any drawing is paid for.
From Esher to West End and Claygate
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