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The DAC's objective is to promote and enable church buildings and churchyards to be resources for the mission of the church, by ensuring that they are well maintained and cared for. DAC members are experts in their field and are eager to help and advise in the process of obtaining a Faculty for major works. Small groups of Committee members often visit churches where a project is proposed and work with the parish as the project develops. The Church of England is exempt from certain demands of the secular planning system; this is a privilege worth striving to retain, but exemption from one set of demands means that those set by our own Faculty system must be at least equally high. To those we add our own view of the churchs calling and purpose. Church buildings do not just belong to the congregations currently maintaining them and possibly developing them, but to a much wider constituency. They are the churches of the whole community in the parishes they serve, and they belong to past and future generations as much as to the present. Primarily, they belong to God.
New Faculty Jurisdiction Rules In January 2016 new Faculty Jurisdiction Rules were introduced to simplify the Faculty system and enable a wider scope of works to be carried out without the need for a Faculty. Proposed work is classified as either being on 'List A', 'List B' or requiring a Faculty. 'List A' There is a national List A of works which can be carried out on your church without a Faculty. This replaces the previous 'De Minimis' and 'Minor Works' lists.
'List B' There is a new national List B of works which can be carried out once the written permission of the Archdeacon has been obtained. Most of these will be repairs and routine maintenance or small works identified in the Quinquennial Inspection report. For 'List B' matters the Archdeacon will consult with a member or members of the DAC for informed informal advice. It is hoped that this will enable parishes to get on with the work without delay. The Archdeacon may, however, set conditions on the way the work is to be carried out. All other works will still require a Faculty. Effective from 1st April 2020, the Faculty Jurisdiction (Amendment) Rules 2019 will come into force, amending the current Faculty Jurisdiction Rules. Under the new rules, Lists A and B have been substantially revised and expanded. Various other amendments have been made to the rules to improve their operation. The wording of the new Lists can be found here An Archdeacons Briefing on the changes can be found here If work is not on the list then please contact Lucy Burfield, DAC Secretary in the usual way - a list of Frequently Asked Questions can downloaded here.
If you are proposing work to trees or to bells you will find some items specified in the Lists A and B, but in any event you will also need to refer to the Church Buildings Council Statutory Guidance which you can download below:. Information: |
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