Kings Chambers, Derby - 3D Drone Survey

Written by J.Jackson | Published:

Kings Chambers is a well-known managed workspace located on Queen Street in Derby, within the city’s Cathedral Quarter. The building forms part of the wider Connect Derby portfolio, which brings together a range of flexible workspaces designed to support local businesses, start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs. As a mixed-use city centre building, Kings Chambers plays an important role in providing accessible, professional office space in one of Derby’s busiest commercial areas.

For Derby City Council, maintaining the condition of the building is an important part of protecting both the property itself and the people who use it. Regular inspections help ensure that any issues with the building fabric, roof or external features can be identified early, before they develop into more disruptive or costly problems.

This type of drone survey is particularly valuable for annual inspection programmes because it provides consistent visual information that can be compared year after year. For asset managers, facilities teams and property owners, this supports better maintenance planning, helps prioritise repair works and provides useful evidence when monitoring the long-term condition of a building.

Our Approach

We captured detailed external imagery of the building, including the roof. The site work took approximately 5 hours, allowing our team to gather the required inspection data while keeping disruption to a minimum.

Before attending site, careful planning was required to consider the building’s city centre location and surrounding environment. Kings Chambers sits within Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, an area with nearby roads, footpaths, commercial properties and public activity. These factors are important when planning drone operations because the survey needs to be completed safely, efficiently and with awareness of the surrounding area.

Once on site, our team used drone technology to capture high-resolution visual information from a range of angles. This allowed the roof, upper elevations and other hard-to-reach parts of the building to be reviewed without the need for operatives to physically access those areas at height.

The survey enabled the inspection team to assess key parts of the building envelope, including areas that would otherwise require scaffolding, a cherry picker or rope access. By using a drone, the client gained a detailed view of the building while avoiding the cost and logistical challenges associated with traditional access methods.

After the site visit, the data was processed over approximately 8 hours. This processing stage is an important part of the workflow, ensuring that the captured information is organised, reviewed and prepared in a clear format for the client.

How Did Our Client Benefit From a Drone Survey?

1. Reduced Inspection Costs Without Scaffolding

One of the key benefits of using a drone survey for this property was the ability to inspect the roof and upper external areas without erecting scaffolding.

Scaffolding can be one of the most expensive elements of a building inspection, particularly for a city centre property. It often requires additional planning, permissions, labour, installation time and consideration of public access. In some cases, the cost of setting up scaffolding can outweigh the inspection itself, especially where the purpose is to complete a routine annual condition check.

For Derby City Council, a drone survey provided a more economical way to review the building’s external condition. Rather than investing in a full scaffolding setup simply to assess whether there were visible issues, the drone could capture the necessary information quickly and safely from the air.

This approach is particularly useful for planned maintenance strategies. By carrying out regular drone inspections, the client can monitor the condition of the building over time and make better decisions about when more intrusive access is genuinely required. If the drone survey identifies a potential issue, the client can then decide whether targeted repairs, further investigation or specialist access are needed.

In this way, drone surveys help reduce unnecessary costs while still providing valuable inspection data. They allow property teams to be proactive rather than reactive, identifying possible defects early and reducing the likelihood of more expensive repairs later.

This approach is particularly useful for planned maintenance strategies. By carrying out regular drone inspections, the client can monitor the condition of the building over time and make better decisions about when more intrusive access is genuinely required. If the drone survey identifies a potential issue, the client can then decide whether targeted repairs, further investigation or specialist access are needed.

In this way, drone surveys help reduce unnecessary costs while still providing valuable inspection data. They allow property teams to be proactive rather than reactive, identifying possible defects early and reducing the likelihood of more expensive repairs later.

Image from the drone → Extract from the 3D model

With around 8 hours of processing time after the site visit, the survey workflow allowed the captured data to be prepared efficiently for review.

This speed does not mean compromising on detail. Drone surveys are able to capture high-quality visual information from angles that are difficult or impossible to achieve from the ground. This makes them ideal for roof inspections, façade condition reviews and annual maintenance checks, especially when a client needs a clear overview of a building’s external condition.

3. Reliable, Repeatable Data for Annual Monitoring

Because this survey formed part of a yearly inspection, reliability and repeatability were central to the value of the work.

When inspecting a building annually, the data needs to be consistent enough to support meaningful comparison. If each survey is captured in a completely different way, it can be harder to understand whether a visible change is due to actual deterioration, different lighting, different equipment or a different inspection method.

At Kings Chambers, using the same drone-based approach helps create a more consistent record of the building’s condition. Where weather conditions and site access allow, repeat surveys can be captured in a similar manner year after year. This gives the client a clearer visual record and makes it easier to track changes over time.

Reliable data is especially useful for planned maintenance. Instead of relying on guesswork or isolated inspections, the client can build a clearer understanding of how the building is performing. 

If a roof area begins to show signs of wear, staining, slipped materials or damage, this can be compared against previous records and assessed in context.

Drone surveys also provide useful evidence for internal reporting. Clear visual data can help facilities teams, property managers and decision-makers understand the condition of the building without needing to physically visit every hard-to-reach area themselves. This makes communication easier and helps ensure maintenance decisions are based on accurate, current information.

Why Choose SolidPoint?

The project demonstrates the value of drone surveys for building inspections, particularly where roof areas, façades or high-level features need to be reviewed. For annual inspections, the ability to capture repeatable data is especially important. It helps clients compare condition over time, identify potential issues early and make informed decisions about future works.

At SolidPoint, our aerial drone surveys are designed to help clients access the information they need without unnecessary complexity. Whether the goal is to inspect a roof, assess external building condition, review hard-to-reach areas or support a planned maintenance programme, drone surveys provide a modern and efficient alternative to traditional inspection methods.

For Kings Chambers, the result was a clear and practical survey process that supported Derby City Council’s goal of keeping the building in good condition while managing costs effectively.

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