This short note summarises some of the key points which emerged from a one day seminar for those involved with church buildings casework, instigated by the Diocese of London and provided by the charity Planning Aid for London on 19 May 2011.
It is not intended to be a definitive guide to this extensive subject. If you think that you may need planning or other local authority permission for an item of work which you are intending to carry out, always contact your local planning authority.
The Ecclesiastical Exemption provides, as the name suggests, exemption for buildings primarily in use for worship by the Church of England (and some other denominations) from certain aspects of planning legislation, including:
The exemption does not, however, exclude church buildings from the jurisdiction of planning permission, dangerous structures notices, advertising consent, the building regulations, or any other secular legislation.
In 2010, the exemption was extended to include “separately listed curtilage structures” such as churchyard walls, railings, monuments etc. which now no longer require listed building consent when works are proposed. This means that you now need only obtain DAC recommendation and a Faculty for works of this kind.
Permitted development rights provide exemption from planning control for minor extensions and alterations to domestic and commercial premises. There are no permitted development rights for any church buildings. This means that you may require planning permission to carry out relatively minor works to your building, for instance exchanging metal framed windows for upvc windows in a modern unlisted church.
A Locally Listed Building is a building, structure or feature which, whilst not listed by the Secretary of State, is considered by the Local Planning Authority to be an important part of an area’s heritage due to its architectural, historic or archaeological significance. A local list is often compiled with help from local interest / history groups. Church buildings can be and often are locally listed. Not all Local Planning Authorities have a local list, but where they do, they may consider local listing as a factor when assessing a planning application.
A Development Plan is a document which is used to guide future new developments and changes in land use within an area. All local authorities must produce a development plan and keep it up to date. In London, there is a two-tier system in place whereby the Mayor of London produces The London Plan, giving strategic guidance, while each London Borough produces a Local Development Framework which gives more detailed guidance.
A Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides additional details of a Local Planning Authority’s strategic aims in respect of one particular aspect of planning policy. Some SPDs have been produced which concern churches or other places of worship and which provide a higher level of protection to such buildings than would otherwise be provided by the planning system. The general public (and church communities) can lobby for the implementation of an SPD if they are concerned about a particular aspect of planning policy in a particular geographical area.
From March 2012 ‘Neighbourhood Plans’ will set out the changes and development which local communities consider to be acceptable. This could include identifying particular sites where new homes, shops and offices could be built, voicing an opinion on how they should appear, and granting permission for approved buildings.
In areas where there is no town or parish council, the local authority will give permission for a voluntary neighbourhood group to become a ‘neighbourhood forum’, provided it is not contested and it is representative of the local community, comprised of at least 21 individuals, and open to new members.
If the local planning authority says that an area needs to grow, then communities cannot use neighbourhood planning to block the building of new homes and businesses. They can, however, use neighbourhood planning to influence the type, design, location and mix of new development.
Neighbourhood plans must abide by national planning standards, and will be independently checked to ensure these standards are met. They can only come into force with the approval of a local referendum.
It is important that churches are represented in the writing of neighbourhood plans. Decisions set out in these documents become legally binding and could affect the character of an area or the setting of the church. If permission is going to be granted for large-scale development, it would be beneficial for the church to be able to prepare in order to continue serving the needs of a changing community.
Churches can become involved by providing a representative to sit on the neighbourhood forum, or by representing their views in writing to the forum. For more information on how this body is being organised in your area, contact your local authority.
If you need to make an application for planning permission, you should always contact your Local Planning Authority to obtain details of their requirements and processes. The following provides a summary, however, of what you should expect:
The information which you will need to provide (depending on the scale of the works being proposed):
It is always sensible to obtain pre-application advice from your local planning authority if you can. Note that local authorities will charge for pre-application advice in respect of planning applications, but not in respect of listed building consent applications. Therefore, although you would not need to apply for listed building consent in most cases involving church buildings, it is advisable to contact a conservation officer rather than a planning officer as this will mean that you will not be charged for the advice which you receive.
All applications for planning permission are placed on the “Planning Register”, advertised in the local press and are the subject of neighbour consultation letters. Exhibitions and other public events are also held as appropriate in the case of major applications. The minimum period for public consultation is 21 days.
This may be made on a delegated basis, where the council’s officers make the decision on behalf of its members, or on a committee basis where the members of the council make the decision informed by briefings from their officers. The number and type of cases which are delegated vary considerably between local planning authorities.
‘Material Considerations’ which the Local Planning Authority may legitimately take into account when reaching its decision:
Factors which are not “Material Considerations” and which therefore may not be taken into consideration by the Local Planning Authority when deciding whether to grant planning permission include:
Church buildings fall within Use Class D1, “Non-Residential Institutions”, which falls in turn within Use Class D, “Community and Leisure” alongside Class D2, “Assembly and Leisure.” Planning Permission is usually required for changes of use between classes D1 and D2. A church, in Use Class D1, may however incorporate other Use Classes (either D2 or one of the other Use Classes A – C) if they are ancillary to the overall use. This is a subjective judgement which is assessed against the frequency and scale of the other uses. Your Local Planning Authority should be able to advise accordingly.
For the purposes of Planning law the definition of an “advertisement” includes a number of different items, all of which might be used by a church community:
Some types of advertisement are excluded from direct control under the planning system:
In other cases, ‘deemed consent’ applies and in practice no application for consent is necessary. Those instances which might be relevant to church communities are as follows:
Express advertising consent is required from the local planning authority wherever a proposed advertisement is not listed as exempt or considered to fall within “deemed consent”. This includes all poster hoardings, some illuminated signs, fascia and projecting signs (more than 4.6 metres above ground level) and advertisements on gable ends. Enforcement of the law takes place through magistrate’s courts as there is no civil enforcement procedure.
In conservation areas, local planning authorities will generally encourage the use of smaller scale posters specified to higher standards. In respect of listed buildings, an advertisement does constitute an alteration and would require listed building consent (although not in the case of churches, which would usually fall within the ecclesiastical exemption).
The question of when, in some circumstances, solar panel installations may not require planning permission has been the subject of much confusion in recent months. Solar panel installations should fulfil the following criteria in order not to require planning permission:
Our thanks go to Mr Anthony Wilson of Planning Aid London for his assistance.
Parish Property Support Team
Diocese of London
April 2012
