BCD Special Report on
Historic Churches
19
th annual edition
35
Unauthorised Works
We have Done Those Things Which
We Ought Not to Have Done…
Charles Mynors
I
t is
perhaps not surprising that there are
relatively few instances of unauthorised
works to churches. After all, those who
are responsible for churches in use are usually
conditioned to obey the law. St Paul, in the
Epistle to the Romans, after observing that
the authorities (‘the powers that be’) have
been established by God, concludes that it
is necessary to submit to the authorities not
only because of possible punishment but also
as a matter of conscience. And the authorities
at the time he was writing included the
Emperor Nero, who was presumably more
troublesome than even the most difficult local
planning authority or diocesan chancellor.
However, mistakes happen. Usually
they arise not due to a pig-headed vicar or
parochial church council (PCC) deliberately
flouting the authorities, although that is
not unknown, but because of ignorance or
impatience. Ignorance of what consents are
required and how they can be obtained is not
entirely surprising, given the intricacies of the
system. Impatience is also understandable,
given how slowly the system operates in some
cases. But the results can be unfortunate. There
was the PCC which sold a fine set of Royal
Arms without any authority; the vicar who
covered the floor of his chancel with ceramic
tiles, thinking (wrongly) he had a faculty; and
the churchwardens who sold medieval oak
chests for much less than their true value.
If there is to be any system of control
over what goes on in churches, it is important
that breaches of the rules are the subject of
appropriate enforcement action. If they are
not, there is no incentive for the idle to find
out what the rules are and no incentive for
the obstinate to abide by them. The secular
planning system thus provides for the issue
of enforcement notices where unauthorised
works are capable of being remedied, and
criminal prosecution – in the case of buildings
(
other than churches) that are listed – to deal
with breaches that cannot be reversed. The
Church of England faculty system provides
for equivalent procedures in relation to
its places of worship, as do the approval
systems of all the main denominations.
Indeed, one of the requirements to be
satisfied by a church body seeking exemption
from the secular system of listed building
control (in the Code of Practice, Annex A,
DCMS guidance 2010: see recommended
reading) is that its procedures should include
arrangements for dealing with any breach
of the control system, including provision
for the reinstatement of works to listed
buildings carried out without consent. Those
arrangements must be published, with
copies provided to planning authorities,
English Heritage and the national amenity
societies.� If all goes well, they will rarely be
invoked. But it is in the interests of the church
bodies, and thus of each congregation, that
there is public confidence in the system.
Enforcement by the local
planning authority
Planning permission will not often be required
for works to an existing church, although it
will be needed where building operations are
carried out to the exterior. This obviously
applies to the construction of a large extension
but it can also apply to works as minor as
fitting new window guards. The test is whether
the proposed works will materially affect the
external appearance of the building (Town and
Country Planning Act 1990, section 55(2)(a))
and in applying that test it will be relevant to
consider the architectural or historic interest of
the building. Planning permission will also be
required for building works of any consequence
in the churchyard, such as the realignment
of an existing path, the construction of a new
one, or a major re-landscaping exercise.
Works to churchyard walls will be
permitted by Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the
General Permitted Development Order
1995.
But there is no other relevant class
All external alterations which materially affect the external appearance of a place of worship require both planning permission and a faculty. Window guards have a
significant impact on character, particularly if poorly integrated and badly maintained (top left).
