Flats on upper floors in and around Horsham town centre often have no safe place to stand a ladder, and the 2015 Planning Framework added more homes in the centre, including around 200 units on the former Novartis site. Tilt and turn windows suit flats because the whole window can be cleaned from inside, which matters on an upper floor with no access for a ladder.
One handle does two things. Turned halfway, the window tilts inward at the top for ventilation that is hard to climb through. Turned fully, it opens inward on side hinges like a door. The wide inward opening also makes a good escape window for an upstairs bedroom, which Building Regulations require in many rooms.
If you own a leasehold flat, the windows may belong to the freeholder, or the lease may control what you can fit. Check your lease and ask the freeholder or managing agent first. Many leases ask for the same colour and pattern across the block. Planning rules for flats are also different from those for houses: flats do not have the same permitted development rights, so check with Horsham District Council if you are changing the look of the windows.
Tilt and turn also suits landings and stairwells in houses, where an outward-opening window would swing over a path or a roof. The 1980s Southwater example on the prices page includes one on the landing for that reason.
House: A 1980s four-bedroom detached house in Southwater, from the period when about 1,600 houses stood in the parish by 1982.
What is fitted: Ten chamfered uPVC casements in anthracite grey replacing the original white double glazing, plus one uPVC tilt and turn window on the landing.
Typically £11,850 to £17,450, supplied and fitted, including VAT.