Buildings and maintenance / Archaeology & Churches
ARCHDEACON’S LICENCE FOR TEMPORARY REORDERING –
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND APPLICATION FORM
WHAT IS A LICENCE FOR TEMPORARY REORDERING?
In many reordering schemes only modest changes are needed: as an example, the removal of a few pews to create a social/meeting area in one of the under-used aisles. In such circumstances it is useful for the PCC to experiment to see how the new scheme would work in practice. The Licence for Temporary Reordering is a permission which allows a trial period of up to 15 months before a formal faculty petition is required.
By the end of the 15-month trial period, the PCC must decide what it wishes to do – to retain the new arrangements, amend them, or go back to the original set-up – and then make a faculty application if changes are involved.
A fuller explanation is given in the DAC leaflet “Reordering Your Church” which is available in hard copy or by email from the DAC office (see below).
WHO ISSUES THE LICENCE?
A Licence for Temporary Reordering is issued by the Archdeacon.
HOW DO WE APPLY?
Download the Temporary Reordering Form (PDF) >>
• Any application must be made direct to the Archdeacon by the incumbent/priest in charge.
• The application should state exactly what the temporary changes will involve. If the changes have not already been discussed with the Archdeacon, the application should also include a broad explanation of what the parish has in mind for the area, and why.
• Photographs will be needed of the area before and after the temporary changes are made. One copy should be kept in the parish records, and one forwarded to the DAC office. (For parish record purposes it is best to keep good quality prints rather than digital photographs.)
• The changes must be capable of being reversed, so arrangements must be made to keep any furniture or fittings in safe storage, without deterioration.
• Any alterations needed to walls, floors etc must be purely temporary. This includes any new wiring, electrical items, platform flooring, carpets, etc. These may be introduced on an experimental basis as long as they are not permanently fixed into place. No drilling into walls, ceilings, floors or fixtures is allowed, so please ask your contractor/workman to install on a temporary basis.
• If any item is to be moved, it should be carried out by a competent person.
• A sample application letter is attached on Page 3.
WHAT HAPPENS THEN?
The Archdeacon will send a confirmatory form stating the start and end date of the Licence, what changes are involved, and any conditions. He will inform the Registry and the DAC. You should keep a copy of this form. If the PCC decides to make the changes permanent and a faculty is needed, proposals should be sent to the DAC in good time.
WHEN IS A LICENCE FOR TEMPORARY REORDERING NOT SUITABLE?
Firstly, the Licence is only suitable for fairly simple projects. For major building works which could not be reversed, for instance, the Licence would not apply. In addition, for listed churches the faculty rules are more complex and internal changes may well involve consultation of bodies such as the local planning department or English Heritage. The Archdeacons, DAC or DAC office will all be able to provide further advice as to what the implications will be in your particular project.
Secondly, the Archdeacon will need to consider whether there are likely to be objections within the PCC or parish as a whole. If so, and if these are likely to be too serious to be successfully dealt with by an experimental period, the Archdeacon may direct that the parish should proceed straight to a faculty petition.
Download the Temporary Reordering Form (PDF) >>
CONTACTS
The Archdeacon of Malmesbury, The Venerable Alan Hawker
Church Paddock, Church Lane
Kington Langley, CHIPPENHAM, Wilts, SN15 5NR
Tel: 01249 750085 Email: alan.hawker@bristol5.gotadsl.co.uk
The Archdeacon of Bristol, The Venerable Tim McClure
10 Great Brockeridge, Westbury-on-Trym
BRISTOL, BS9 3TY
Tel: 0117 9621433 Email: tim.mcclure@bristoldiocese.org
Mrs Gill Hawkings
The Diocesan Registry
14 Market Place
WELLS, Somerset, BA5 2RE
Tel: 01749 674747 Email: gill.hawkings@harris-harris.co.uk
Mrs Celia Gibbons
DAC Office, Church House, 23 Great George Street
BRISTOL, BS1 5QZ
Tel: 0117 9060100 Email: celia.gibbons@bristoldiocese.org
FURTHER INFORMATION
DAC leaflet “Reordering Your Church”.
Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2000 (available to download from www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002047.htm).
Diocese of Bristol
August 2007