Most church buildings in the Diocese are subject to a piece of legislation called the Inspection of Churches Measure. This stipulates that a PCC should appoint an architect to look after its church building and to carry out a condition survey every five years. You can find more advice about appointing an architect here. This survey is called a quinquennial inspection and the findings are written up in a document called the quinquennial inspection report (QIR). The aim of this document is to help you plan repairs and maintenance. Any works identified in the QIR are usually grouped in order of urgency, from matters requiring immediate attention to those that are desirable, but not within any set timescale.
You can check with the Care of Churches Office if you’re not sure when the next inspection is due, but it’s the PCC’s responsibility to instruct the architect to carry out the inspection and to pay for it. Here are the fees for quinquennial inspections, which were last reviewed by the DAC in May 2018:
| Large church: | £900 |
| Medium church: | £700 |
| Small church: | £550 |
It’s important to note that these are advisory only – it’s up to the PCC to negotiate a mutually acceptable fee with its architect.