Review of the ecclesiastical court judgments during January 2025

Only three consistory court judgments were circulated in January 2025; these included: the application of the tort of nuisance; the replacement of condemned wall-mounted heaters with a new boiler and wet system; and a burial plot that had been reserved by two families. 

However, this review also includes: CDM Decisions and Safeguarding; CFCE Determinations; and links to other posts relating to ecclesiastical law.

Reordering, extensions and other building works

• Other building works, including re-roofing
• Net zero issues

Other building works, including re-roofing

Re St. Paul North Shore Blackpool [2024] ECC Bla 6 There is a separate post on this judgment. The ELA Summary is below:

“The church, formerly a church hall built in 1898, became a parish church after the original church was demolished in about 1992. The proposal was to convert the existing gentlemen’s toilet block, to the north of the altar, into an office and to rebuild the ladies’ toilets, on the south side of the altar and adjoining a private house, as four unisex toilets, including one with wheelchair access. The neighbours at the adjoining house wrote a letter of objection, their main objection being noise disturbance. The Chancellor granted a faculty, but imposed a condition that the petitioners should reverse the locations of the ladies’ toilets and the new office, if possible, but, if this was not practicable, they should use their reasonable endeavours to introduce acoustic insulation to the party wall between the church building and the objectors’ home.”

[Re St. Paul North Shore Blackpool [2024] ECC Bla 6] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Net zero issues

Re Christ Church Wesham [2024] ECC Bla 5 The petitioners sought to replace the church’s condemned wall-mounted heaters with a new boiler and wet system with convector heaters. They also sought retrospective permission for the repair of a vandalised stained-glass window in the south aisle. The church is currently a place of worship on Sundays and is widely used by the adjacent church school during the week, as well as Starfishes, Mothers’ Union, Lent lunches, coffee mornings and fund-raising events. The present congregation is depleted in comparison to its historical regular weekly attendance; however, they have seen a steady growth [1].

As the existing heaters are condemned, the Church has no heating. Last winter was very cold in the Church, making it difficult for the congregation and school to use the building. Consequently, congregation numbers were reduced as well as income [4]. In February 2023, a Report by Consulting Engineer J.R Book in February 2023 said [emphasis added]:

“[5]. A Church heating system must be capable of not only providing ‘warmth’ to the congregation but must also be able to be used to assist in the condition maintenance of the Church fabric & fitments. The assistance towards condition maintenance of the Church fabric & fitments is made by trying to ensure that the internal surface temperature of the structure is slightly higher than the external surface temperature. This helps to prevent interstitial condensation within the fabric construction and hence damp and stale/moisture laden air within the space. It is thought that the use of the existing system will not adequately provide for good control of the heating system by ensuring that the Church is currently not allowed to become too cold by maintaining the internal space at a temperature 12deg C”.

At a meeting of the Diocesan Advisory Committee on 4 September 2024,  the following proposals were considered [6]:

• To remove 10 defunct gas heaters and replace with a new wet heating system including a gas condensing boiler in the storage area with new flue at high level and 10 convector heaters in the north and south aisles, with new pipes at low level, in accordance with the quotation from GOS Heating Ltd dated 14th February 2024 and JR Book heating options appraisal Ref: 117.22 dated April 2023.
• Retrospective permission for the repair of a vandalised stained-glass window in the south aisle in accordance with the quotation from Pendle Glass dated 12th April 2024.

The Committee recommended the proposals for approval by the court [6]. The Deputy Chancellor noted:

“[7].  However, the first proposal involves matters to which net zero guidance applies (see the guidance issued by the Church Buildings Council under section 55 of the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007 on reducing carbon emissions). The Committee formed the view that the explanation provided of how, in formulating the first proposal, the Church had had due regard to the net zero guidance, was adequate”.

There were two objections in relation to the heating [8] to which the Churchwarden responded, stating inter alia:

” [10]. The new system would be more cost efficient, with maintenance and running costs and would be Hydrogen ready to meet the carbon zero by 2030 and reduce the carbon footprint by up to 50%.

[…]

On the recommendations of John Brook (Heating adviser to Diocese) and the DAC, the PCC decided to go for the proposed system, which would better heat the church, be more environmentally friendly, reduce running costs and servicing costs, have a modern control system zoning certain areas as needed and being Hydrogen ready would reduce our carbon footprint by 50% and go a long way to being carbon neutral by 2030″.

The Deputy Chancellor granted a faculty, subject to information being provided by the end of January 2025 as to how the cost of the heating works would be funded. He noted: “[12]. £9,000 has already been raised towards the total of £70,216 required for the heating system. The balance of £61,216 is being sought and although I have seen references in the documentation to grants being available because of the type of system being geared to meet carbon net zero by 2030, no further details have been submitted of what may be available and/or accessible in terms of funding”.  [Re Christ Church Wesham [2024] ECC Bla 5] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Exhumation

• Errors in burial

Re St. Helen Sefton [2024] ECC Liv 4 Reservations for the same burial plot had  been made 30 years apart. The first reservation of the plot, then designated N144, had been carried out in 1977 and it was the expectation of the deceased’s sister, who had a terminal health condition, that she would be buried with the corporeal remains of her brother in due time, in accordance with the reservation of the grave [3]. The same plot, but re-designated N2 8/3, was subsequently reserved for the ashes of two members of a second family, which were interred in the plot in 2008 and 2009 [2].

After the mistake came to light, an application was made by the first family to exhume the ashes interred in 2008 and 2009, and to reinter them elsewhere in the churchyard [1]. Although members of the second family were initially supportive of the exhumation, “they subsequently indicated their strong objections; “one of the reasons which may well have grounded their unhappiness at the way in which the matter has been handled and which has fortified their objections, was an understanding that despite an assurance provided by the vicar that no steps had been taken to interfere with the grave, they noticed that part of the surface had been disturbed, and the grave’ partially dug up ”.

The Chancellor noted, “In fact the evidence from the vicar is that steps had been taken by a specialist grave digger to identify the precise location of the caskets in relation to the surface of the grave, and how easily they could be accessed by utilising a rodding process”[5]. However, he considered that greater harm would be caused to the first family if the petition were refused, and therefore granted a faculty for exhumation and reburial. [Re St. Helen Sefton [2024] ECC Liv 4] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Privy Council Business

There were no Privy Council Meetings in January. 

CDM Decisions and Safeguarding

Penalties by consent

Name: The Revd MICHAEL FRANCIS CHATFIELD 
Diocese: Province of Canterbury
Date imposed:  9 January 2025
Relevant CDM section: 16(1)
Statutory Ground of Misconduct: s 8(1)(d): conduct unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders.
Penalty: Rebuke and Injunction

CFCE Determinations

Meetings of the Church of England Cathedral Fabric Commission are reported in these round-up posts each month, the most recent being posted on 28 December 2024. An on-going issue over the past couple of years has been the substantial delays in the reports on the applications that the commission examined (Form 8s) and the decisions made by the commission (Form 10s).

Recently there has been significant progress with all Form 8s, and all Form 10s, apart from 1 February 2024 and 11 April 2024 up to date. Links to all the published determinations &c are here.

Links to other posts

Recent summaries of specific issues that have been considered in the consistory courts include:

Churchyards

• Consistory court addresses tort of nuisance, (9 January 2025). 

General/Miscellaneous

• Makin Review – Church Commissioner’s Questions, (18 January 2025).
• Mandatory Reporting Bill [HL], Second Reading , (18 January 2025). 
• A review of individuals criticized by Makin, (17 January 2025).
• Redress Scheme – further update, (15 January 2025).
• Safeguarding: Codes of Practice, (10 January 2025).
• Consistory court addresses tort of nuisance, (9 January 2025).

[Top]

Updated: 31 January at 12:37.

Notes on the conventions used for the navigation between cases reviewed in this post are summarized here.