A property owner is having to replace its thatched roof with slate after being warned he might not be able to insure it in future.

Fenland council has agreed planning permission for a new roof to be installed on an outbuilding at Meadowcourt, off the A1101 at Elm, near Wisbech.

Its owner, named in planning papers as Mr J Boyall, submitted a letter from his insurance broker alongside his application.

"We have had difficulty in placing your property owner's insurance this year due to an extremely limited market for properties which have thatched roofs," it says.

"Many insurers have pulled out of the market for such risks due to the number of fire claims associated with thatched roofs over the last policy year."

The broker adds he can not guarantee the underwriter which has agreed to insure the property will do so in future.

A report to councillors said the outbuilding, constructed in 1980, "would appear to be somewhat a folly constructed in a whimsical form and attached to the house by way of a loggia (gallery)".

It adds: "It is a shame to lose this material from the site in place of a less interesting roof covering.

"However, with it being a relatively modern construction and of no historical significance or context, on balance its replacement with slate and lead, in the manner proposed, is supported."

It concluded the replacement roof would not harm the character of the area. 

There have been a number of major fires in thatched buildings across the region in recent years.

They include the blaze that gutted a historic church at Beachamwell, near Swaffham, in February 2022. 

A thatched cottage at Needham, in South Norfolk, was severely damaged the previous year, while 10 fire crews were also called out to a thatch fire at Framingham Pigot, near Norwich.