St Giles, Ickenham
Photo Credit: Peter Aiers
Church buildings, their contents and grounds are protected by Faculty Jurisdiction. Under this legislation, any alteration, repair, extension or addition needs to have the Bishop of London's approval. This is granted by the Chancellor of the Diocese or, in some cases, by the Archdeacon.
The Church of England benefits from Ecclesiastical Exemption and is not subject to Listed Building Consent or Conservation Area Consent from the Local Planning Authority when the church building is listed. However, it is important to remember that although Listed Building Consent is not required, Planning Permission may be needed if changes are to be made to the outside of the building.
Please check with the Care of Churches Team if you have buildings other than the church in the churchyard. These may or may not benefit from Ecclesiastical Exemption.
Most works to your church building, including changes such as the installation of disabled access, an extension, relighting or reordering the interior, will require a Faculty. This is permission granted by the Chancellor of the Diocese as Judge of the Consistory Court.
A Faculty is also needed when taking out or bringing in new furniture. It is important to obtain a Faculty before selling or disposing of anything which belongs to the church.
Some minor works do not require a faculty. These works are outlined in the Minor Works list.
Please seek the advice of the Care of Churches Team and your Archdeacon at any early stage when considering doing any works.
This is a simplified outline of the process you might expect for a typical Faculty application.
Each case is different so a different set of information may be needed by the DAC (please see checklists).
It is important to remember that this process can take time. It is essential to be aware of this right at the start.
1. Have your idea!
2. Discuss your idea with the PCC as any faculty application will need a PCC resolution.
3. Discuss your idea with the Archdeacon and DAC office to gain informal advice.
4. Appoint appropriate professional (architect or heating or lighting engineer, depending on what you are doing).
5. Draw up plans and submit these to the DAC, along with a Statement of Need and a Statement of Significance when the church is listed.
6. The DAC will consider these plans in the Architects group, Sub- or Full Committee. The DAC may wish to visit, or you may wish the DAC to visit to explain the proposal in more detail.
7. The DAC will advise if you need to consult external bodies such as English Heritage, the Local Planning Authority or any of the Amenity Societies.
8. Once the DAC has received all the relevant information and considered it, the DAC office will then issue a Certificate, or Form 1.
9. The Certificate is sent to you along with the Petition for Faculty and the Public Notice. This begins the legal process.
10. You will need to put up the Public Notice for 28 days in a prominent location. If there are objections, there is a fair and thorough process for considering them.
11. The Petition for Faculty and the plans can be sent to the Registry before the Public Notice, which can follow on once the 28 days are over. However, a copy of the public notice in the form being displayed should be sent with the Petition.
12. The Chancellor then decides whether to grant the Faculty.
