Rooflights and skylights in March

The town is the administrative centre of Fenland District Council, which is also the planning authority for every rooflight and skylight we fit here. Above the rooftops, St Wendreda's church holds a double hammerbeam roof crowded with carved wooden angels, one of the more admired pieces of church carpentry in the country, and on the edge of town Whitemoor grew into a marshalling yard so large it changed what kind of place March became, sorting wagons for goods traffic long after the passenger platforms had gone quiet for the night. March station still stands at a genuine junction, with lines running out towards Cambridge, Peterborough, Ely and King's Lynn.

Housing followed the railway more than it followed the market square. Rows of Victorian and Edwardian terraces went up around the station to put workers close to their shifts, and semi-detached pairs from between the wars filled in the roads heading out towards the villages. Both stand on land so flat that a roof here sees an unusually complete sky, which is the first thing we check on any rooflight and skylight installation across Cambridge and the towns around it, in March as much as anywhere.

A shallow hip changes what a given size of roof window actually delivers: the same frame lets in less open sky than it would set into a steeper pitch, so a loft bedroom on one of these semis sometimes needs a wider unit, or two smaller ones side by side, to match what a single window gives a room on a steeper roof closer to town. That is a decision worth taking on the survey rather than borrowing a size from a different house type.

Original single-glazed roof windows remain in place on these semis, and age is starting to show through stiff hinges, a cold draught in January, or a pane that has clouded between the glass where the seal has finally let go. Replacing a misted or failed rooflight like this is the natural point to step up to a modern double or triple glazed unit, which keeps a Fenland winter out far more effectively than the window it replaces while giving the room no less daylight than before.

A town built into a valley or among mature trees often loses the first or last hour of sun to whatever sits on the horizon. Around March, that loss barely happens. A south-facing slope keeps the sun for nearly the whole of its daily arc, so the glass and any shading have to be specified for the full length of that exposure rather than a shortened one. A north-facing slope, in the same open setting, delivers calm, consistent daylight with almost no direct sun to manage at all, which suits a home office or a stairwell where screen glare matters more than warmth.

East and west slopes fall between those two extremes, giving a shorter but stronger dose of low sun that can cause real glare rather than simple brightness, particularly across a screen or a dining table at the wrong time of day. Because so little stands between a March roof and open sky, we assess the true outlook from the roof itself on survey day, rather than relying on compass direction alone to predict what a room will feel like.

Our planning permission guide covers those limits in full; broadly, a rooflight should not project more than 150mm past the roof plane it sits in, nor sit above the highest point of the existing roof. A flat converted from a house, or a flat above a shop, does not carry the same permitted development rights regardless of the opening's size, so those addresses need an application from the start. Building Control asks a separate set of questions alongside planning: the thermal performance the replacement glass must reach, fire separation close to a boundary or shared wall, and safety glazing wherever someone could stand beneath the opening. Where the work is notifiable, we handle that Building Control notification for you.

Our Building Regulations guide sets out each part in more depth for a house like yours, and it is worth a read before the survey rather than during it.

Do I need planning permission for a rooflight in March?

Usually not, provided the address sits outside a conservation area and the opening stays within the permitted development limits: no more than 150mm above the roof plane and no higher than the existing ridge. Around St Wendreda's and the town centre we check the specific street against Fenland District Council's own records rather than assume a blanket answer, because a particular street could carry restrictions we have not confirmed apply town-wide. A listed building always needs listed building consent, and a converted flat always needs a full application.

Does March's flat surroundings genuinely change how a rooflight behaves?

Yes, in a real way. With so little around a March roof to block the sun, a south or west-facing slope keeps its sun for close to the whole day rather than losing an hour or two at either end to a neighbouring building or a line of trees. That makes the choice of glass and shading more important than it would be in a town with more shelter, especially over a kitchen used through the warmer months.

Should a March kitchen extension get a flat rooflight or a roof lantern?

It depends on the size and layout of the room rather than a fixed rule. A single flat rooflight, set back towards the original house wall, generally solves a dark corner in a modest side-return or rear extension. A larger open-plan kitchen and dining space, especially one reaching well into the garden, often benefits more from a roof lantern, which brings light in from several directions at once rather than through one opening. We recommend a route only after seeing the room and roof together at survey.