In a guest post, Shirani Herbert, Legal Correspondent of the Church Times, reviews the unfortunate sequence of events in Re St Bartholomew Bristol [2024] ECC Bri 1

Carrying out building work unlawfully and then applying for retrospective permission is always risky, whether in the ecclesiastical courts or under the secular planning laws. If permission is refused it may result in the work having to be demolished at great expense and inconvenience.

The issue arose in the Consistory Court of Bristol when Chancellor Justin Gau was faced with a petition seeking a confirmatory faculty in respect of work carried out unlawfully at the church of St Bartholomew Bristol, an unlisted church built in 1894. Continue reading →