DIOCESE OF BRADFORD
THE INSPECTION OF CHURCHES
INTRODUCTION
The Diocesan Scheme which follows should be studied carefully with its appendix.
A list of qualified persons approved by the Diocesan Advisory Committee to carry out quinquennial inspections under the 1955 Inspection of Churches Measure, as amended by the 1991 Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure, is available from the Secretary of the Committee at the Diocesan Office. Individual qualified persons are named, and not firms. A Parochial Church Council may ask the Advisory Committee for permission to appoint a qualified person who is not on the approved list and the Committee may or may not approve the choice.
THE BRADFORD DIOCESAN SCHEME
This scheme is established by the Bradford Diocesan Synod by a resolution of 1 March, 1997. It supersedes all previous schemes, and shall come into operation on 1 June, 1997.
The Scheme shall be administered through the Diocesan Advisory Committee and all correspondence should be addressed to the secretary of the DAC.
Nothing in the Measure or the Scheme detracts from the responsibilities of every Parochial Church Council for the proper care of each church under its authority, and for applying for a Faculty before any work is put in hand.
All parish churches in the Diocese and all other consecrated churches and chapels and buildings licensed for public worship which the Measure requires to be inspected shall be inspected under this Scheme, together with articles, trees and ruins which are required to be inspected under the Measure; approximately one-fifth of the buildings are to be inspected each year.
The basis of Quinquennial Inspections of a church should be:-
Previous quinquennial inspection reports, which are deemed to form part of subsequent reports, and should be read in conjunction with them.
Any recent ad hoc reports on the fabric, fittings, furnishings, ornaments, organ, bells, decoration, trees and heating of the church.
The Church Log Book, maintained in accordance with Canon F13.4.
A recent written test report on the electrical system.
From the notes take at the inspection, the qualified person shall prepare a report following the format set out in the current edition of A Guide to Church Inspection and Repair, (available in the Resources Centre). The report shall summarise the works needed in the following categories:-
Immediate – requiring action without delay.
Urgent – requiring action within, say, six months.
Essential – requiring action within the quinquennium.
Likely to be needed within a longer term.
(Inspecting Architects/Surveyors (qualified person) should realise the utmost importance of correct assessment of priorities, within the resources of the parish.)Following an inspection the qualified person will normally be entitled to the usual scale of fees for specifying and supervising work to be done. The quinquennial inspection report is the copyright of the qualified person who prepared it, and may not be used as a specification for obtaining estimates or for work by voluntary labour without the author’s permission. Thus:-
In the case of simple repairs, the qualified person may include adequate guidelines or specifications for the work recommended in the quinquennial inspection report and give permission for these to be followed without further consultation.
In the case of more complex work, the parish may be able to save time and cost by asking the qualified person to prepare a specification for the work which is known to be needed at the same time as s/he makes the quinquennial inspection.
The Diocesan Advisory Committee will not normally approve an application for a Faculty unless the qualified person has specified the work or agreed to it, and it will usually also expect the qualified person either to supervise the work, or at least to signify its satisfactory completion when it has been done.
PCCs should consult the Diocesan Advisory Committee about the choice of qualified person if a change is necessary, and the appointment will be subject to the approval of the DAC.
The inspection of the church is to be visual, and such as can be made from ground level, ladders or accessible roofs, galleries or stagings. Parts of the structure which are inaccessible, enclosed or covered will not be opened up unless specifically requested. The inspection is to include, so far as practicable, all features of the building, and to cover all aspects of conservation and repair. The PCC shall provide ladders and any other assistance as the qualified person considers necessary.
Within one calendar month from making the inspection, the qualified person shall send a copy of the report to the archdeacon of the archdeaconry, the PCC of the parish in which the church is situated, the incumbent or priest in charge and to the secretary of the DAC.
The DAC Secretary shall be responsible for keeping a register of those buildings which are covered by the Scheme, and of appointed qualified persons. The register shall also include dates of inspections and reports.
Every qualified person, when appointed, shall enter into agreement with the Parochial Church Council of the Church which s/he is to inspect, in the form set out in the Appendix of this Scheme. The qualified person will thus undertake:-
To carry out the quinquennial inspection and to produce a report on it within 6 months.
To draw up the report in the manner prescribed at 6 above.To send copies of the report to those listed at 10 above.
To oversee all approved major repair work recommended in the report, when and if funds permit, each stage of this repair work being a separate commission arranged directly between the Parochial Church Council and the qualified person at a mutually agreed scale of fees.
A qualified person’s fees for carrying out the quinquennial inspection of a church shall be calculated by reference to the appropriate scale and conditions of engagement. An estimate of the fee to be charged, including the preparation and issue of the report and any specifications provided, shall be agreed by the Parochial Church Council, as client and the qualified person before the inspection takes place. If the inspection involves unforeseen work which necessitates a higher fee, the consent of the Parochial Church Council must be obtained. Travelling expenses at the normal diocesan mileage rate may be charged by the qualified person in addition.
Nothing in this Scheme shall alter the powers of an archdeacon to ensure the inspection of every church in his archdeaconry once in five years, as laid down in Sections 2 and 3 of the Inspection of Churches Measure 1955 as amended by the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991.
In order to provide for the cost of inspections and the inevitable repairs afterwards, every Parochial Church Council should budget for Fabric Repairs.
Any questions which may arise concerning the interpretation of this Scheme shall be referred to the Bishop’s Council, the decision of which shall be binding.
This Scheme shall be subject to amendment only by means of a formal motion, presented after due notice to the Diocesan Synod, and approved by it.
APPENDIX
Form of agreement between a Parochial Church Council and the qualified person appointed to make an inspection under the Measure.
The Parochial Church Council of .....................................…..…..……………………
Nominates .................................……………………………………….....………….……………
As qualified person for the purposes of the Inspection of Churches Measure 1955 and hereby undertakes to pay his/her fees for the Quinquennial Inspection which is now due, in accordance with the following scale and terms
1 Estimated time to be taken by the Inspection
……….……………………………………………………
2 Rate per hour to be charged
………………………………….…………………………
Signed by the Secretary of the Parochial Church Council
……………………………………………..……………………
by the said qualified person
…………………………………………..………………………
Date …………………………………………………………….
(both parties should retain a copy of this agreement).
