C O N T E X T 1 4 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 19 the incumbent in whom the building and churchyard are normally vested; the churchwardens in whom the contents are vested; the archdeacon within whose archdeaconry the building is situated; and the bishop, the chancellor, and the consistory court of the diocese advised by the diocesan advisory committee. This faculty jurisdiction, in the case of the listed church buildings of the Church of England, provides for the parallel but separate consent process to local authority listed building consent (LBC) known as Ecclesiastical Exemption.This is available to six religious denominations in England: the Church of England, the Church inWales, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and those Baptist churches of which the Baptist Union is the trustee. Ecclesiastical Exemption was granted by parliament because it recognised that church buildings were primarily there to serve, support and enable the mission and ministry of the church, and that it was unreasonable to expect secular bodies to have control over buildings which were there to serve the church’s mission. These six denominations operate systems of planning control to provide for the conservation of listed churches and chapels and their contents. In the Church of England each diocese has a diocesan advisory committee (DAC), comprising people with expertise in the conservation and aesthetics of church buildings, which advises the chancellor who makes the decisions. Consultation with statutory bodies and interested parties includes Historic England, the relevant amenity societies and the local authority conservation office, which are represented on the DACs. Significant matters are referred to the Church Buildings Council (CBC)3, which will also advise the relevant chancellor. Apart from the paid officers and the stipendiary clergy, the majority of people responsible for the parish churches of the Church of England are volunteers: churchwardens, PCC members, DAC members and CBC advisors give their time and expertise for free. Operating the consent process, which is governed by law, is dependent on the goodwill of the volunteers. Sometimes the local churches can find Faculty Jurisdiction all too burdensome and will attempt to circumvent a process which is there to protect both the buildings and the people who look after them. The challenge at times can be to get the local churches to consult with the DAC, which provides a range of expertise and pre-application advice free of charge, before they decide and act. The Measure referred to above also requires each church to have an inspecting architect or surveyor appointed by the PCC and a routine five-year building condition survey, the quinquennial inspection (QI), followed up with a detailed building condition report, the quinquennial inspection report (QIR). For all the benefits of the QI procedure, church communities often dread receiving the QIR, fearful that it will highlight a long list of urgent works with the accompanying costs. The quality of the relationship between inspecting professional and local church community is vital to the success of this procedure. Paternalism or excessive fees can be the cause for a stand-off between the two parties, and yet an impecunious PCCwill attempt to get something for nothing out of its appointed professional. The desire to save money and time associated with professional fees and consent processes has resulted in many church buildings having any number of unauthorised repairs and ‘improvements’.Where these works have utilised ordinary Portland cement on the historic fabric, it has compounded the problems created by the Victorian scraping and removal of protective external lime renders and limewash, all of which contribute to a significant problem for the future. Church buildings can often be viewed as a burden rather than a blessing by the volunteers who have the job of looking after them.Many of the volunteer churchwardens and PCCmembers lack the confidence and the experience necessary for the management of the historic assets which, they can feel, they have been lumbered with. The way the Church of England is organised can make it difficult for the knowledge and expertise to be handed on to newly elected churchwardens and PCC members. Among the points in the executive summary of a recent discussion document that Place of Worship Support Officer 4 (PoWSO) colleagues in neighbouring dioceses and I produced identified that: Church buildings are a major asset for the Church of England. They are usually prominent features in local landscapes, their purpose is easily identified, they attract visitors and they are generally valued by the wider community; many are listed, stunningly beautiful and integral to the history of the local area. •• Most Church of England dioceses have too many churches and not enough people to maintain and operate the buildings effectively. •• Many PCCs can not afford to fund the full costs of church life, such as ministry, operational costs, and the cost of building maintenance, repair and improvement. As a result the parish share of contributions for clergy stipends and building maintenance can be underfunded. •• Congregations feel burdened and frustrated by heritage considerations that can make repairs and alterations expensive and difficult to achieve. •• Better training is needed for church communities Evidence of frustration with the consent process of the Faculty Jurisdiction, which originated at the time of HenryVIII References 3 www.hlf.org.uk/ about-us/our-strategy 4 Support Officers for Historic Places of Worship – Historic England website advises that ‘support officers can help you understand, manage and maintain your historic places of worship.They will help you build the skills necessary to manage and make best use of your building and understand the importance of regular maintenance.’ https://historicengland. org.uk/advice/ caring-for-heritage/ places-of-worship/ support-officers/
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