The practicalities of achieving “net zero” in the Church of England were addressed recently in two items:
“The case presents a cautionary tale in respect of the difficulties that can arise when proper consideration is not given at an early stage to the Church Buildings Council’s net zero guidance (“the Guidance”). The Petitioners compounded those difficulties by also deliberately proceeding with works which they knew to be unauthorised. The combined result is most unfortunate”.
Ormondroyd, Ch. in Re Christ Church Chineham [2025] ECC Win 1 at [2]
“Don’t wait until your heating breaks down. Plan now. Don’t just rely on the retired electrician in the parish. He may be out of date. However, don’t be seduced by trendy new methods. Take advice. This book not just another woke exhortation but you will find that it prepares you for the question which Chancellors/Diocesan Advisory Committees (DACs) are already raising about your rather old-fashioned proposals for improving your church heating”.
June Rodgers [*], Book Review, ELJ [2025] Vol 27 (3) 405
In Re Christ Church, Chineham, the petitioners sought a confirmatory faculty to authorize the installation of two replacement gas boilers at Christ Church, Chineham. They proceeded with unauthorized works, installing gas boilers without fully exploring sustainable heating options like air source heat pumps (ASHP) or LPG systems, despite recommendations from an energy audit and the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC).
Christ Church, Chineham is run as a Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership between the relevant parts of the Baptist Church, Church of England, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church. This makes it somewhat unique. However, the Anglican Vicar is also the lead and only minister, and decisions taken by the Joint Church Council (“JCC”) are also taken simultaneously by the Parochial Church Council. There is no dispute that the church building is subject to the faculty jurisdiction [8].
In November 2023 it was clearly apparent that there was a problem with the older boilers, as following servicing of the boilers the Petitioners sought quotations “for boiler replacement”. In February 2024, one of the older boilers did indeed fail. At the JCC meeting on 19 February 2024, authorization was obtained to replace the two old boilers. The JCC was asked to and did commit £14,000 from an available ‘development fund’ of £40,000. The figure of £14,000 was based on estimates for replacement with two new gas boilers [11].
At this time, the JCC was aware that an energy audit by ESOS Energy (subsidised by the diocese of Winchester) was due to be undertaken. As such, its decision was “subject to the energy audit and quotations”. However, when the Petitioners generated a case on the online faculty system in March, the description of works they provided specified that, whilst they were looking at other options than gas boilers, they could “commit up to £14k towards our heating systems upgrade” – in other words, they could commit only the sum calculated by reference to replacement with two gas boilers [12]. By March 2024, the Petitioners had sought three quotations for replacement gas boilers [13].
An options appraisal document generated in April 2024 by a member of the congregation with considerable professional experience as a mechanical engineer dismissed heat pump options as being unsuitable without “extensive and intrusive works”. It presented a “verbal summary” of the outcome of the ESOS energy audit, which (wrongly, as it turned out) suggested that the assessor was supportive of the use of new gas boilers with consideration of heat pumps only “if budgets allow in the long-term future” [14].
On the decision to proceed without a faculty, the court noted:
“[22]. It is undeniably the case that the DAC’s stance evolved over time. The DAC was reported as being ‘largely supportive’ on 3 May 2024, and the specialist adviser on 23 May 2024 was said to have had ‘no real objections’ – beyond asking if the Petitioners had considered a bio-LPG option…It was not until 24 July 2024 that it was communicated to the Petitioners that the adviser was ‘not satisfied with the answers provided” as “he does not feel the costs should be as high’. On 4 October 2024 it was further communicated that the adviser would like to see a fuller review of all alternatives, including heat pumps”.
[24]. The chronology does however help to explain the Petitioners’ decision to proceed with the works on 22 July 2024. As at that date, they had not received any indication of a substantive objection to their proposals from the DAC. As such, they seem to have believed that the authorisation they were asking for would inevitably be granted in due course, so that they were breaching ‘due process’ but not any substantive requirement of the law. At the hearing, the Petitioners aptly characterised this approach as “naïve”; and it is not in any sense a precedent for other churches to follow.
[25]. The Petitioners sought to justify their decision on the basis that it was imperative that the boilers be replaced in time for winter 2024/25. However, the work was poorly specified and executed. The installers sought to reconfigure the system so that all three boilers heated the whole space, rather than each one heating a specific zone. This was, however, done ineffectually such that the heating system did not function, and ultimately a second contractor had to be brought in to remedy the situation in February 2025, at a total extra cost of some £5,600.
[26]. These are just the sort of problems that can be avoided where the DAC’s advice is taken. The irony of the situation is as unavoidable as it is unfortunate.
The option of installing an LPG boiler was not considered in the ESOS report, but was raised by the DAC adviser [27]. The main objection to LPG pursued by the Petitioners was on the ground of cost. However, “In reality… the Petitioners’ figures [appeared to the Chancellor] to show clear potential in an LPG system to make significant savings in both costs and carbon emissions over the lifetime of the new system [32].
While the court ruled that a faculty would not have been granted if properly sought [38], it allowed the boilers to remain temporarily due to the practical difficulty of removing them before winter. A faculty was granted for three years, with the condition that the church offset carbon emissions and explore sustainable heating options.
Summary
A key issue was the Petitioners’ failure to consider the Church of England’s Net Zero Guidance. Despite an energy audit suggesting air source heat pumps (ASHPs) as a sustainable alternative, the Petitioners dismissed this advice without detailed analysis, opting for gas boilers driven by cost and convenience. They failed to obtain meaningful quotes for greener options until after the court’s intervention. Although the court noted inconsistent communication from the DAC, it held the Petitioners responsible for ensuring compliance. While the court ruled that a faculty would not have been granted if properly sought, it allowed the boilers to remain temporarily due to the practical difficulty of removing them before winter. A faculty was granted for three years, with the condition that the church offset carbon emissions and explore sustainable heating options [41,42].
Comment
Book reviews do not fall within the ambit of L&RUK; However, the details of the book reviewed by June Rodgers in the ELJ are: Making Your Church Sustainable: A Practical Guide to Getting to Net Zero, Nigel Walter, Canterbury Press, Norwich, 2024, 126 pp (paperback £14.99) ISBN 978-1-78622-497-2.
Although Amazon states “Usually dispatched within 3 to 7 months” with delivery “12 January – 1 May, 2026″, David’s copy from another supplier has been picked, packed, and is currently en route.
[*] Former Chancellor of the Diocese of Gloucester.
It is worth mentioning that the General Synod motion on the Route Map to Net Zero (GS2258) was by no means passed unanimously. About 15% voted against, on the grounds that it was naive virtue signalling, and that it would cost the Church and the country £ hundreds of millions, and would lead to mass de-industrialisation. Mass de-industrialisation would lead to reduced tax revenues, and so reduced welfare and NHS spend. The consequences of current Net Zero policies have not been thought through by either the CofE or Govenrment.
Thank you Roy – its not often that one receives a Comment from a fellow metallurgist. I would agree that the consequences of current Net Zero policies have not been thought through by either the CofE or Government. Perhaps there is scope for a post on that topic? DavidP
Yes , what do I have to do.? Can I include graphs and illustrations?
Roy
Morning Roy
Thanks. Guest posts are normally around 1500 words max, and due to WordPress limitations on file size, we do not normally include graphs.
DavidP
Links to LRUK posts carbon reduction are at https://lawandreligionuk.com/2022/04/27/index/#Reduction
It is now becoming difficult to find churchwardens. I cannot begin to think why.
[• In 2021 the diocese of York reported that about 40% of its parishes had only one churchwarden, and half were unable to find separate volunteers for warden, secretary, and treasurer.
• In 2024, a survey of multiple dioceses found that in different dioceses, between 25% and 40% of parishes had only one churchwarden, while between 5% and 21% had none.
(Reference: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/15-march/features/features/no-churchwardens-and-vacant-pcc-posts-an-investigation-into-the-church-volunteering-crisis)]
Churchwardens are a special case, but charities generally are finding it more and more difficult to recruit trustees. I am a trustee of two charities, and both generate a surprising amount of work – not least because the legal duties of trustees become more and more onerous with every year.
Indeed. A general trend. The case of churchwardens is only special in that they are responsible for large public buildings, often listed.