Ecclesiastical Law Journal

Table of Contents - Volume 13 - Issue02

Case Notes

Re Bishop Hannington Memorial Church, Hove

Chichester Consistory Court: Hill Ch, January 2011 Illegal works – confirmatory faculty – conditions

Edited by Ruth Arlowa1

a1 Barrister, Deputy Chancellor of the Dioceses of Chichester and Norwich

(Online publication April 26 2011)

In June 2010 the vicar and churchwardens petitioned for a retrospective faculty authorising works undertaken illegally during the course of 2010. In determining the petition the chancellor expressed regret at the ‘cursory and less than fulsome’ nature of the explanations which had been filed by the petitioners, the inspecting architect and the contractors, in accordance with the court's directions. In reluctantly granting the retrospective faculty the chancellor attached conditions that the inspecting architect should make written representations as to why his name should not be removed from the list of approved inspecting architects; that the contractors should not be approved for any building works concerning churches in the diocese for a period of 12 months; and that even if they fell within the class of cases which might otherwise be put before the archdeacon, any faculty applications during that period are to be determined by the chancellor. [RA]