Practice Notes

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Approved for Publication 16/04/2004

PUBLIC BUILDINGS COMMITTEE

Practice Note 24

REVALUATION 2005

Valuation of Churches and Other Places of Worship

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This practice note deals with the valuation of churches and other places of worship.

2.0 BASIS OF VALUATION

2.1 The subjects should be valued on the contractor's basis using the recommended unit cost rates.

2.2 The valuation of these subjects comprises three elements:-

Building Cost
External Works Cost
Land Value

Unit cost rates derived from building and external works costs were analysed to reflect a £2,000,000 notional contract size and relate to gross external area. Reference should be made to Basic Principles Practice Note 2 (Contractor's Basis Valuations) and Public Buildings Practice Note 4 (Contractor's Basis Valuations External Works Costs, Allowances and Land Value).

3.0 UNIT COST RATES

3.1 Building Cost

Purpose built traditional stone or modern place of worship with special architectural features or finishes £1100/m²

Purpose built non-traditional place of worship of good quality, generally of brick construction and good internal finish £750/m²

For a non-traditional place of worship of lower quality or finish, prefabricated/utilitarian subjects, reference should be made to Public Buildings Practice Note 17 (Valuation of Halls, etc.) for assistance with unit cost rates.

3.2 External Works Cost

Reference should be made to Public Buildings Practice Note 4.

3.3 Land Value

Land value should be based on local evidence and the appropriate rate applied to the total site area.

Any burial ground which is at full capacity and situated within the curtilage of a place of worship should be excluded.

In the absence of local evidence a rate of £10 to £50 per square metre may be used.

Reference should be made to Public Buildings Practice Note 4.

4.0 ALLOWANCES

4.1 Physical Obsolescence

Age and obsolescence allowances should be applied in accordance with the table in Basic Principles Practice Note 2 and Public Buildings Practice Note 4.

4.2 Functional Obsolescence

Disabilities which restrict general use on some subsidiary floors, or parts thereof, may require allowances to be applied to the parts affected, e.g. -

Lower Ground/Basement	- Poor quality finish and/or inferior light	-5% to -30%
	- Poor cellar quality, etc.	at discretion

Attic Floors	- Medium coving/camp ceiling (to 1.5 m)	-25%
	- Heavy coving/camp ceiling (1 m or less)	-50%
	- Poor finish/coving/camp ceiling (to 1.5 m)	to -60%
	- Poor finish/coving/camp ceiling (1 m or less)	to -75%

Galleries/Balconies	- Mediocre access and/or sight lines	-10% to -20%
	- Poor access and/or sight lines	-20% to -35%
	- Very poor and largely disused	-50%

Disabilities which affect the whole property may require allowances to be applied overall.

Subjects are assumed to have basic services and if facilities such as toilets, heating, water or power are not available, allowances should be restricted to a maximum of -10% in total.

The above allowances should not be aggregated but applied in sequence to arrive at adjusted replacement cost.

5.0 DECAPITALISATION

5.1 The appropriate statutory decapitalisation rate should be applied.

6.0 END ALLOWANCES

6.1 Consideration may be given to the matter of superfluity or over-provision in regard to places of worship. It is possible to find sharp contrasts between the capacity of buildings and the membership and/or attendance of the organisation. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, an end allowance of 30% should be granted to reflect this generality.

6.2 Exceptional circumstances will include knowledge of, or consideration that there is, an average attendance factor of the following magnitude. The allowances to be applied in these circumstances are noted below.

Average Attendance	Allowance
Over 60%	None
60% to 40 %	-15%
Less than 25%	-50%

(Based on average attendances from 2000 to 2003).

6.3 Where a place of worship is linked to another and is not in regular (daily or weekly) use, an allowance of up to -10% may be added to the other relevant allowances. This should be applied only where it is deemed to be suitable in the appropriate circumstances and subject to a maximum resultant allowance of -50%.

7.0 COMMUNITY HALL/PLACE OF WORSHIP

7.1 If a hall serves as a place of worship or vice versa the whole subject should be valued as a hall (see Public Buildings Practice Note 17 ) with adjustments to take account of any special features. However, if the overall appearance, layout and quality is that of a place of worship it should be valued as such.

8.0 OTHER FACILITIES

8.1 There has been a growing trend in recent years for areas within places of worship to be adapted for other uses, such as bookshops, crèches, nurseries, restaurants etc. Cognisance should be taken of the extent of the alterations and adaptations together with any relevant letting arrangements and how these may impinge on the overall character and category of the subjects.

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