The short answer
Swindon Borough Council runs its own building control team. You can apply with a full plans application, use a building notice for domestic work, or ask for regularisation if work is already done. A registered building control approver is the private alternative. Towns outside the borough use Wiltshire, the Vale of White Horse, Cotswold or West Berkshire routes.
When roof work needs building control at all
Plenty of roof work needs no application. The Planning Portal sets two limits for repair and re-covering jobs. Stay under 25 per cent of the total building envelope and under 50 per cent of the roof, and you will not normally need to apply. The envelope is every external element of the house taken together: walls, floor, roof, windows and doors.
You will need approval if you go past those limits, carry out structural alterations, use a covering that performs differently in a fire, or use a material that makes the roof 15 per cent or more heavier. Exceeding the limits can also bring in thermal insulation requirements. Chimney breast removal and solid conservatory roofs are other examples that do require an application.
Where work is notifiable, Skyline Swindon Roofing explains the consent route and handles the Building Regulations notification. Ask at survey stage whether your job crosses either limit, and we will answer in writing.
Swindon Borough Council's own team
Swindon Borough Council keeps its building control team at Wat Tyler House, Beckhampton Street, Swindon, SN1 2JH. The team can be emailed at bcontrol@swindon.gov.uk, and general enquiries are taken by phone on 01793 466050 during office hours. Inspection bookings go through the same numbers, and the council runs a separate out-of-hours line for emergencies.
Applications are made through the council's online forms. The council's own guidance describes the options, and you can read it on Swindon Borough Council's building regulations page. Their website also has a route for reporting a dangerous building, which is separate from an ordinary application.
Do not confuse building control with planning. They are different departments with different tests, and approval from one does not replace the other. A roof covering swapped like for like rarely needs planning permission, though listed buildings and Article 4 areas carry caveats that the council's planning team can confirm.
Full plans, building notice or regularisation
The full plans route works for any building job, houses included. You submit drawings and details, the council checks them and issues a decision before work begins. It takes longer at the start, though it gives certainty and suits bigger projects such as roof structure changes.
A building notice is allowed for work to a domestic building. You tell the council what you intend to do and work can start after the notice period, without a formal plan approval. It is quicker, but the risk sits with you, because the inspector may ask for changes once they see the work. It suits simpler jobs where the detail is well understood.
Regularisation is for work already done without the required approval. The council looks at what was built, may ask you to open up the structure for inspection, and issues a certificate if the work complies. If you are buying or selling a house and find an old unapproved roof alteration, regularisation is the usual remedy.
Notice before inspections
The council needs warning before it can inspect. For commencement, Swindon's team asks for at least 48 hours' written notice, and for other inspections at least 24 hours. That means you should book as soon as you know the date, rather than waiting until the roof is covered. An inspector who cannot see the structure has little choice but to ask for it to be exposed again.
On roof jobs the inspection points are usually before the old covering is stripped, when new insulation or structure is exposed, and at completion. Your contractor should tell you which stages apply. Keep photographs as work proceeds, as they help if there is ever a query. If a certificate is issued at the end, keep it with your property papers, because a future buyer's solicitor will ask for it.
The council's team also decides on matters such as fire performance of a covering, which is why changing material type can trigger a request for approval even when the area is small.
Registered building control approvers
The council is not your only choice. Since 6 April 2024, private firms offering building control in England must be registered building control approvers, registered with the Building Safety Regulator. They do the same checking job, working under the Building Regulations, but operate as a private business. You can read GOV.UK's guidance on registered building control approvers.
People often choose a private approver for speed or because they like dealing with one named surveyor. Ask about fees, ask how inspections are booked and confirm the firm is registered. If you hire one, the approver, not the council, issues the final certificate.
Either route leads to the same outcome: a recorded check that the work meets the regulations. Our page on how to become a roofer touches on the training behind trades that work to these rules.
If your home is outside the borough
Our patch covers more than Swindon, and the right team depends on where the building stands. Wiltshire Council's building control team looks after towns such as Royal Wootton Bassett, Chippenham and Marlborough. In the Vale of White Horse, which includes Faringdon and Wantage, the service is shared and called Southvale Building Control, reached on 01235 422700. Cotswold District Council runs its own team in Cirencester, on 01285 623393. West Berkshire is served by Building Control Solutions, on 0300 790 0580.
Roof work in an area of outstanding natural beauty, now called a National Landscape, still follows the same Building Regulations, though planning rules differ. Read our page on National Landscape roofs for that side, and see roof shapes if a change of form is on your mind. If your wall is shared with a neighbour, the party wall page explains the separate notice rules.