Commercial Building Survey: Converting St. Michael and All Angels Church into a Food Hall

The brief

We were instructed by a commercial client to carry out a full Level 3 RICS Building Survey on St. Michael and All Angels Church ahead of a planned change-of-use conversion into a multi-vendor food hall.

The property is a Grade II listed building — which immediately adds complexity to any survey. Listed status means every alteration, structural or cosmetic, requires Listed Building Consent from the local authority. Our report needed to not only assess the current condition of the building, but flag which defects would require specialist conservation-grade repair methods.

What made this survey different

Church buildings present challenges you simply don't encounter in residential work. The roof spans are significantly wider than a typical house, the structural systems are older and more varied (stone, timber, ironwork all in the same building), and access to key areas — the bell tower, the roof void above the nave, the crypt — requires more planning and often specialist equipment.

For this inspection, our surveyor spent a full day on site. The key areas of focus included:

• Roof structure and coverings — the slate roof showed signs of nail sickness in several areas, with slipped and missing slates on the north elevation. The lead flashings around the bell tower needed attention.
• Structural movement — historic cracking was visible in the chancel arch, consistent with long-term settlement rather than progressive movement. We recommended monitoring rather than immediate intervention.
• Damp and ventilation — with the proposed change of use to a food hall, ventilation and damp management become critical. The existing stone walls have no damp-proof course (typical for buildings of this age), and the introduction of commercial kitchen extraction will need careful design to avoid condensation damage to the historic fabric.
• Services — the existing electrical installation predates current regulations and will require full replacement as part of any conversion works.

Our recommendations

The report included condition ratings across every major building element, along with specific recommendations for the conversion works. We advised the client on which elements would likely require Listed Building Consent, which repairs could proceed as like-for-like maintenance, and where specialist input from a conservation architect would be needed.

The food hall conversion is an exciting project and exactly the kind of adaptive reuse that gives historic buildings a viable future. Our role was to ensure the client went in with a clear picture of the building's condition and the regulatory requirements ahead.

Need a commercial building survey?

Whether you're assessing a church, warehouse, office, or retail unit, our team has the experience to deliver a thorough, RICS-compliant report. Get in touch or request a quote to discuss your project.