What Inner West Council's Gads Hill statement says about slate and terracotta roofs in Croydon

What the Council's statement says

Inner West Council publishes a character statement for each heritage conservation area. The one for Gads Hill in Croydon says: A covenant was placed on the subdivision requiring all buildings to be of brick or stone or both, roofed with slate or terracotta tile, and with a minimum value of £400 or £500. The figure is in pounds, the pre-decimal currency, so it is a historical minimum from when the subdivision was sold, not a current cost.

It also lists, among the area's key elements: original roof forms with original cladding of slate, unglazed terracotta or corrugated steel (depending on period and style of building), and original chimneys. The statement is published on Inner West Council's website under the running head Draft Comprehensive Inner West DCP 2016, and the Council's DCP page lists the Comprehensive DCP 2016 as the current plan for Ashfield, Croydon and Summer Hill. It does not say that any particular house is inside the area.

Why it matters to a roof owner

A covenant of that kind is a condition on a title, set when a subdivision was sold, and the Council's statement records it as part of the area's history. It does not set a rule for a roof today, and it does not say which houses are inside the area.

Where a property is in a heritage conservation area, repairing or replacing roof cladding is not exempt development under the state's code, so the question to ask the Council comes before the quote.

What the Council and the NSW Heritage Office say about slates

The NSW Heritage Office's maintenance sheet, dated March 1998, online edition 2004, says because slate is such a durable material, most of the slates stripped from a roof are likely to be reusable. However, it is common for at least 10% of the slates to require replacement.

It also says each roof slope should have either all old slates or all new, as a mixture of old and new on one slope rarely looks good.

What to ask

Ask the Council whether the property is in the Gads Hill area or another conservation area, what it needs to see before slates are stripped, and whether the existing slates can go back on. Ask the provider what the quote assumes about reused and new slates.