The Court of Arches, the appeal court for Ecclesiastical Law in the Church of England’s Province of Canterbury, has given the go-ahead for improvements to one of the Midlands’ most historic churches.
Holy Trinity Church in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, petitioned the Lichfield Consistory Court for a Faculty – ecclesiastical planning permission – to introduce a dais, or staging area, along with an access ramp. But, on 5th November 2009, the application was rejected by the presiding judge of the Consistory Court, His Honour Judge Marten Coates, who described the proposed raised area as “too great”.
In an appeal hearing in London on 10th June this year, Mr Mark Hill QC, for the Vicar and Church Council, told the Court of Arches that the church was appealing the decision on both procedural and substantive grounds, saying: “the Chancellor imposed an unorthodox approach upon the determination of this petition at variance with the procedure prescribed by the rules.”
In addition to the procedural grounds, the Church also appealed on the substantive matter, saying that the weight of evidence supported the Petition and the Chancellor did not address this in his judgement refusing the Faculty.
In its 54-page judgement, the court rejects all but one of the procedural grounds; but gives detailed guidance about how the rules and procedures governing Faculty applications should be approached. The judgement is likely to become the text-book guide which will be relied upon in the future.
Although letters of objection had been received from nine individuals (including two couples); there were no formal objectors to the Petition. Whereas all the statutory consultees, English Heritage, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Stafford Borough Council’s Conservation Officer, the Lichfield Diocesan Advisory Council for the Care of Churches and the Archdeacon of Stoke, all supported the scheme.
The Court of Arches said of the response by English Heritage: “There could not have been more coherent, or enthusiastic, support for the proposal from the public body charged with the protection and conservation of listed buildings.”
The Judgement states: “Our conclusion is that a Chancellor is not bound by expert advice on aesthetic considerations, including the effect on listed buildings, but where a Chancellor is to depart from expert opinion, and is not in the position of having to choose between experts who differ on aesthetic matters, then he must specifically address the expert evidence; and, if he is to reach a different conclusion, he must give a reasoned explanation why the expert evidence had been rejected. The Chancellor did not to this in the present case.
“Further the court is entirely satisfied, on examination of all the evidence, that the proposals will not adversely affect the character of Holy Trinity Church as a building of special architectural or historic interest.”
The Court of Arches, presided over by the Dean of Arches Charles George QC, with Chancellors Timothy Briden and Linda Box; allowed the appeal and granted a Faculty for the installation of a dais at Holy Trinity, subject to a number of conditions including that the platform should be free-standing to ensure the reversibility of the scheme and the protection of the existing church structure; and should be completed within two years.
The judgement said: “The appeal is allowed on two grounds: first, because having concluded that he was too involved to determine the petition by way of a hearing in open court, the Chancellor erred in not recusing himself from determining it by way of written representations, and second because on a proper evaluation of the evidence he should have exercised his discretion so as to grant a faculty.”
As with all appeals on unopposed faculty petitions, the court costs have to be paid by the church.