In short
- Haslemere and Hindhead sit within or beside the Surrey Hills National Landscape, where rendering an unrendered house needs planning permission.
- Tile hanging and Arts and Crafts detailing are part of local character and should not be rendered over lightly.
- Elevated sites take more wind-driven rain, so render specifications should allow for high exposure.
- The town centre is a conservation area with many listed buildings.
Heritage and landscape
Haslemere's centre is a conservation area, and the town is surrounded by the Surrey Hills National Landscape, with Hindhead Common, the Devil's Punch Bowl and Black Down nearby. In these areas, cladding a house in render is not permitted development, so rendering a brick or tile-hung house for the first time needs planning permission. See planning permission for rendering.
The local vernacular includes clay tile hanging on upper floors, sandstone, and Arts and Crafts houses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rendering over these features is rarely supported by planners and often not in the building's interest.
Exposure
Houses on the higher ground around Haslemere and Hindhead face more wind-driven rain than those in sheltered valleys. For rendered houses that means specifying for exposure: adequate render thickness, a good base coat with mesh, sills with proper drips, and careful detailing at the top of walls and around openings.
What works here
- Repairing and renewing existing render on houses that are already rendered.
- Lime render and limewash on older solid walls.
- Silicone render on twentieth-century brick and block houses outside sensitive settings.
- Render cleaning on shaded, wooded plots.
Planning
Waverley Borough Council currently handles planning here. Surrey's district and borough councils are being replaced by new unitary councils, so check which authority handles planning at the time you apply.
Questions people ask
Can I render my tile-hung house in Haslemere?
It would normally need planning permission because of the Surrey Hills designation, and planners generally resist losing tile hanging. Discuss with the council first.
Is Hindhead covered?
Yes, along with Grayswood, Shottermill, Beacon Hill and Grayshott.