Trams brought the people
Electric trams to Shepherd's Bush in 1901 and Uxbridge in 1904 were said to cause the population growth.
Roofers in Southall
Roofs on the Uxbridge Road suburb of trams and 1920s estates
Southall grew as a suburb after the 1890s, with trams from 1901, 700 houses at Mount Pleasant by 1928 and council estates later. We survey each roof, and explain rights.
Southall's trams, Mount Pleasant and manor house
Mount Pleasant's 700 houses
In the 1920s and 1930s the north-western corner was built up, with over 700 houses in 1926 to 1928.
The manor house of 1587
Southall manor house, built in 1587, was the only ancient dwelling of importance surviving in the parish in 1971.
Map of Southall with Hayes, Northolt, Brentford, Hounslow marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Southall, on the Uxbridge Road west of Ealing
Hayes lies west of Southall, Northolt north, Brentford and Isleworth south-east, Hounslow south, West Drayton further west and Richmond beyond Isleworth.
About 26.9 road miles north-east of Farnborough · London Borough of Ealing (unitary).
Which service does your Southall roof need?
Southall, estates and your rights
Southall's roofs: your cancellation rights and estates
What the consumer rules say about cancelling a roofing contract signed at home, what the 1971 history records about trams, Mount Pleasant and council housing, and what the canalside conservation area and the Liberty Cinema add.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Signed at home: what the cancellation rules say | 14 days, with an urgent-repair exception |
| 02 | Trams, 700 houses and council estates | Over 700 houses in 1926 to 1928 |
| 03 | The Canalside conservation area and the Liberty Cinema | Liberty Cinema, Grade II* |
Chapter 01 of 03
Signed at home: what the cancellation rules say
| Situation | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Contract made at your home after a survey | Cancel at any time in the 14 days after the day the contract is made, without giving a reason |
| No cancellation information given | The period can extend, by up to 12 months after the day it would have ended |
| You ask for an urgent repair visit | No right to cancel: regulation 28(1)(e) excludes a visit requested for urgent repairs |
| Quality of the work | Services must be performed with reasonable care and skill: Consumer Rights Act 2015 s49 |
Many roofing contracts are signed at the customer's house after a survey, which the law calls an off-premises contract, and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 attach a cancellation period to it. In plain terms, the customer may withdraw without giving a reason, and for a service the period runs to the end of the fourteenth day after the day of the contract. Citizens Advice adds that counting starts the day after signing, and that fourteen days is a floor: a seller may allow longer but not less.
Where the rules stop
The regulations carve out a visit that the customer asked for specifically so that urgent repairs or maintenance could be carried out. Citizens Advice describes the effect: no automatic cooling-off follows when you invite a business in to deal with something urgent. A call about a ceiling dripping during a storm may therefore be treated differently from a re-roof agreed calmly after a survey. Which situation applies to you is a question Citizens Advice can help with, using your own paperwork.
Two further points are easy to miss. Where a trader fails to give the required cancellation information, the period can stretch by as much as 12 months beyond the day it would otherwise have finished. And if you want work to begin before the fourteen days are up, an off-premises contract requires your request in a durable form, an email or a signed note, for example. Check any contract offered to you, from any firm, against these points.
Quality, disputes and advice
Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets a standard for services, reasonable care and skill, and later sections stop a trader excluding liability for failing it. If a disagreement arises, section 308 of the DMCC Act 2024 obliges a trader to tell the consumer about any dispute-resolution arrangement that is available. Free advice comes from the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, 0808 223 1133, and Citizens Advice advises getting three written quotes or more before you choose.
Before you sign with anyone, ask for their cancellation terms in writing, and for a total that says whether VAT and scaffold are included. Keep copies of everything you are given, with dates, because a complaint is easier to make when the papers are in order.
Chapter 02 of 03
Trams, 700 houses and council estates
Southall's growth in four published figures
- 1901 and 1904electric trams to Shepherd's Bush and Uxbridge
- Over 700houses built at Mount Pleasant, 1926 to 1928
- 1,119houses the local authority had built by 1939
- 1,003permanent dwellings built from 1945 to 1958
Middlesex's county history, in its 1971 volume, says suburban development in Southall began in the last decade of the 19th century, and that electric trams to Shepherd's Bush in 1901 and to Uxbridge in 1904 were said to be directly responsible for population growth. During the 1920s and 1930s the north-western corner of the parish was built up, including Mount Pleasant, where over 700 houses were built between 1926 and 1928.
Council estates and later homes
By 1939 the local authority had built 1,119 houses, and between 1945 and 1958 another 1,003 permanent dwellings were built. A town built in a few bursts, by a few builders, to a few plans has roofs that may share an age, and those roofs may reach the same stage of life in the same decade. Even so, every roof is read afresh on the day, slope by slope, because repairs and re-coverings since then differ from house to house. Our pitched roofing page sets out the repairs that suit each covering, from a few slipped tiles to a failing ridge.
Houses built in bulk can gain extensions later, with flat roofs over a kitchen, a garage or a porch, and each addition brings a junction with the original roof. Our flat roofing page describes membranes, outlets and falls, and the survey logs each flat section on its own sheet, since such a roof wears out on a different schedule from the main one.
The figure700houseshouses built at Mount Pleasant between 1926 and 1928, over this number700 Mount PleasantSource: British History Online, Victoria County History of Middlesex vol 4 (1971), Southall; Historic England, National Heritage List for England
Southall manor house, built in 1587, was described in 1971 as the only surviving ancient dwelling of importance in the parish. The history records heavy London Clay in the north and light loam and gravel south of the Uxbridge Road, and no roofing conclusion follows from soil.
If a roofer has called on you after a storm and you are unsure what you signed, bring the paperwork to the survey. We read it with you and point out what it says about price, scope and cancellation, and where it is silent, so that you can put the right questions before the work begins, calmly and in writing. A short list of questions is easier to put to a trader than a worry, and we can help you write one.
Chapter 03 of 03
The Canalside conservation area and the Liberty Cinema
| Designation | In Southall | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area | Canalside, south-west part | Ask Ealing before changing a roof's look |
| Grade II* listed | Liberty Cinema (NHLE 1079380) | Listed building consent where character is affected |
| Grade II listed | 13 Allenby Road (NHLE 1079467) | Listed building consent where character is affected |
| Grade II listed | Grove House (NHLE 1358754) | Listed building consent where character is affected |
| Grade II listed church | Church of St George (NHLE 1079382) | Route depends on its denomination and use |
The south-western part of the Canalside conservation area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre of Southall. The London Borough of Ealing's planners hold the boundary and can say whether your street falls inside it and whether an Article 4 direction applies. A name on a map does not prove that your own house is covered, so a call before any visible roof change is cheaper than a mistake. Inside a conservation area, dormers lose the usual allowance and become a planning application.
Listed buildings
The Liberty Cinema carries a Grade II* listing, while 13 Allenby Road and Grove House carry Grade II listings; 6 listed buildings are recorded by the national list within 900 m of the centre. Work that would change a listed building's character needs listed building consent, and we ask Ealing before pricing. A cinema roof is a large and unusual structure, and a survey of such a building starts with access and fall protection before anything else.
St George's church holds a Grade II listing; which route its roof work takes depends on denomination and current use. Anglican churches still holding services go through the faculty system, certain other denominations run exempt procedures of their own, and anything outside the exemption needs consent from Ealing, so the church's custodians can say which fits before any scaffold goes up.
Unlisted houses
If a house is unlisted, section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 puts outside development any repair that keeps its outer appearance materially the same. Copying what is on the roof counts as the simple case, and dated pictures show what it looked like before work began. Ealing's planners decide anything bigger, and our planning permission for roof work guide explains the national rules, including what a flat or an extension can and cannot do.
A flat has no permitted development rights of its own, so every change but a straight like-for-like swap needs a planning application, and the freeholder or managing agent usually holds responsibility for the roof. If you own a flat, tell us at the first call, because that settles who orders the work and who must hear about it.
Southall roof questions, from cancelling to cinemas
My Southall roof has leaked since a storm: can I cancel the repair I booked?
Where you yourself asked a trader to attend for an urgent repair, regulation 28(1)(e) removes the usual right to cancel, as Citizens Advice also explains. The work must still be done with reasonable care and skill. Citizens Advice, on 0808 223 1133, can look at your own contract and tell you where you stand.
Which council handles planning for my Southall roof?
The London Borough of Ealing, a unitary council, decides planning, and any building control application goes to your building control body. Whether any application arises turns on the Planning Portal's limits of 25 per cent of the building envelope and 50 per cent of the roof, which the survey measures.
Is the Liberty Cinema in Southall listed?
Yes, Grade II*. Roof work that alters its character calls for listed building consent from the London Borough of Ealing. The Church of St George, 13 Allenby Road and Grove House are each listed Grade II. We ask the borough before pricing any work on a listed building, and supply pictures and measurements.
Where do I check if my Southall house is in the Canalside conservation area?
Ask the London Borough of Ealing's planning team, which holds the boundary map, or check the council's conservation maps. The south-western part of the Canalside area lies within about 0.75 km of the centre. Inside it, a dormer is a planning application of its own, and the council hears of any change to the roof's appearance before we quote.
From Southall to Hayes and Brentford
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