Replacement windows in Slinfold

Slinfold lies west of Horsham, off the old Roman road of Stane Street, now the A29. The population was 2,055 at the 2011 census. At Alfoldean, in the parish, Time Team excavated in 2006 one of the probable four Roman posting stations on Stane Street. St Peter's Church was rebuilt in 1861 to designs by Benjamin Ferrey on the site of the medieval church. Slinfold station on the Cranleigh line closed in 1965, and its trackbed is now part of the Downs Link.

The Article 4 direction

Slinfold is the one village covered here where window replacement itself can need planning permission. Horsham District Council made an Article 4 direction for land in the Slinfold conservation area, recorded as starting in December 1997. According to the conservation area appraisal, it removes householder rights to alter a house where the work fronts a highway, watercourse or open space and involves removing an external window. In plain terms: replacing a street-facing window on a house in the conservation area needs an application.

The conservation area covers The Street, which forms its spine, with Hayes Lane, Lyons Road, Park Street, Clapgate Lane and Spring Lane. The appraisal's gazetteer lists 21 entries, including the four 1830s almshouses on Lyons Road and the 1881 village hall. It describes medieval timber-framed buildings under Horsham stone or handmade clay tile roofs, Georgian houses with patterned brick, and Victorian houses with decorative bargeboards. Windows are timber casements, Yorkshire sliding sashes and vertical sliding sashes, and the appraisal names their replacement with plastic as the main threat to the area.

What gets fitted here

On a street-facing window in the conservation area, plan on timber, made to match the existing pattern, and allow time for the application. Horizontal sliding Yorkshire sashes are unusual and need a joiner who knows them. Timber casements cost about double uPVC flush; budget for a first repaint about three years after fitting and recurring ones after that. Rear windows that do not face a highway, watercourse or open space may not need permission; ask the council. Houses outside the conservation area can usually be replaced like for like.

More background on Slinfold on Wikipedia.