Faculty Procedure - The Petition

The Petition

13. This is the formal application for a Faculty. The form, together with the Public Notice will be forwarded by the DAC Secretary or can be obtained from the Diocesan Registrar. The Petitioners are normally the Incumbent and Churchwardens of the parish and usually the PCC.

    Note: If the Petition is for authority to execute a Licence for the use of either the Church or Church land by a third party, or if there is no Incumbent, advice should be sought from the Diocesan Registrar before completing the Petition as to who should be the Petitioners. In such cases the proposed third party Licensee should normally be a petitioning party together with the Incumbent, Churchwardens and PCC

14. It is important that the form is completed accurately. In particular the Schedule of works and purposes on page 2 must set out clearly and comprehensively in words the works or purposes for which a Faculty is required. Please do not rely solely on such phrases as "see specification herewith" or "see plans herewith". The Schedule must set out the works or purposes that are to be authorised by the Faculty. The Chancellor will require also a clear explanation of why the proposed works are needed. This should be contained within the "Statement of Need" sent to the DAC. The Schedule should also list all plans/drawings by numbered reference.

    Note: If an application is for authority to replace an item, then it may be necessary to include a request for the disposal of the item replaced (i.e. organ, pews, etc.).

15. The summary of the works in the Certificate from the DAC will often be a help in completing the Schedule, and the Registrar is always ready to give advice. It is important, of course, that the works or purposes set out in the Schedule are the same works or purposes that are referred to in the DAC Certificate. It is normally sensible to ensure that the wording on the Petition is the same as that on the DAC Certificate.