[Bell Historians] Faculty Petition - advice please

[Peter Rivet]

>From the perspective of somebody working for a local authority planning
service, I think your Registrar is being overzealous.  The whole point of
the ecclesiastical exemption scheme is that these matters are left for the
church to deal with.  The option of involving the council is as I see it
there to deal with really major works (like completely reordering the
interior of the church) and I cannot see augmenting the bells as coming into
this category.

We certainly didn't consider it necessary to involve the local authority
when we augmented Lancaster Priory's bells three years ago.

Peter Rivet


  -----Original Message-----
  From: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of David Beacham
  Sent: 18 August 2009 16:59
  To: ringing-chat at 8yBrpivSUKdMzlNi-vunm1aIXUP8gmTdudZcYfTpf-u5gsukRejza6cY6DS7CZ2rdQyjoZvWAIJ6j54Oa3L2ROC1vMHqAAg.yahoo.invalid; change-ringers at heXkRgn6szSkBdoDs_12lnfX12hl31XwF4yUqTP-Xi5BXfjxaQ5lZsZ0rSCiiiKFYWq9VYapMS3CExMkFCRi17NFQQi0T5fw.yahoo.invalid;
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  Subject: [Bell Historians] Faculty Petition - advice please


    As a recently retired DAC bell advisor I thought I knew all about the
  faculty application process. However, a petition to install a flat 6th in
  my own church (Worcester, All Saints) has got hung up on a late direction
by
  the Diocesan Registrar. The petition had completed all the usual
processes,
  i.e. consultation with the DAC, English Heritage and the Georgian Group
(it
  being an C18 church) and no objections raised. Now, the Registrar is
saying
  that it also needs to be referred to the Local Authority and a Public
Notice
  inserted in the local press. He cites the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2000,
  Sections 13 (3) and (4) and Appendix B as requiring this action.

  I have never before heard of a faculty application to augment a ring being
  subject to approval by the Local Authority. Furthermore, since part of the
  application process requires the churchwardens to display a Citation
(i.e.a
  Public Notice) on the church's notice board for a period of 28 days, and
  which they did weeks ago, why on earth should further notice be required
by
  way of a notice in the local paper?

  The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2000 may be found at
  http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002047.htm#13

  Can anyone out there with the required specialist (legal) knowledge say
  whether or not the Diocesan Registrar is interpreting the rules correctly?
  Has any other church had to involve the Local Authority in this way in
  recent times?

  DB



  
           
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