Telegraph letter

[nigelsdtaylor]

Yes indeed! I am only too aware of the increasing difficulty in obtaining permission to replace bells, frames, and to tune old bells. Parishes aspirations are generally listened to by the conservationist bodies, but often ignored. Sometimes, there is no semblance of a compromise, and the ringers are left with what they consider as an unsatisfactory installation. 
The code of practice states that a ring of bells is a musical instrument and should sound in tune. However, there have been many occasions during the last few years when this statement has been completely ignored. 
Faculties can take months, and sometimes years to obtain; this leads invarably to greater expense for a parish, and difficulties for those of us in the trade to operate with any real degree of efficiency. We are businesses, that like any other business must try to trade profitably, and this has become increasingly difficult to achieve.

Nigel Taylor