Ecclesiastical Exemption from listed building and conservation area consents

The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 provides that ecclesiastical buildings for the time being used for ecclesiastical purposes can be exempt from:

• Listed Building Consent
• Conservation Area Consent
• Building Preservation Notices
• Compulsory acquisition of buildings in need of repair
• Urgent preservation works

The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) Order 2010 restricts the exemption to the buildings of the following denominations:

• Church of England
• Roman Catholic Church
• Methodist Church
• Baptist Union of Great Britain
• United Reformed Church

Churchyard structures such as lychgates or boundary walls are included in the exemption even if they are listed separately from the church building, provided they are within the curtilage of a listed church building and are in use for ‘ecclesiastical purposes’ (not defined in the 1990 Act, so there is some uncertainty about what it means). A clergy residence on the other hand can not be exempt, even if it is within the curtilage and part of the same list entry as a listed church building.

The exempt denominations operate systems of control over listed churches which are considered equivalent to the secular system of control operated by local authorities and which comply with a Government Code of Practice. In addition to the formal application procedures, all denominations encourage informal, pre-application consultation. The Code of Practice is contained in guidance from the DCMS, The Operation of the Ecclesiastical Exemption and related planning matters for places of worship in England (2010).

Non-exempt denominations and faiths

All denominations and faiths which are not exempt by virtue of the 2010 Order should seek listed building consent or conservation area consent from their local planning authority to undertake works to a listed church or an unlisted church within a conservation area.

Consultation by exempt denominations

Under the Code of Practice, denominational processes should make provision for public advertisement of proposed works and consultation with the local planning authority, relevant national amenity societies and English Heritage. Any representations made in response by members of the public or statutory consultees should be taken into account in the denomination’s decision making.  Each decision-making body should also be ‘under a specific duty to take into account, along with other factors, the desirability of preserving ecclesiastical listed buildings, the importance of protecting features of special historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest and any impact on the setting of the church’.

Scheduled Monument Consent and archaeology

Places of worship themselves can not be scheduled as ancient monuments, but churchyard structures or archaeological features in a churchyard or beneath a place of worship can be, in which case scheduled monument consent would be required for relevant works.

In considering proposals for works which would affect undesignated archaeological remains, exempt denominations are expected to assess the potential impacts before determining the application and make appropriate arrangements for recording.

Churchyards and Cemeteries

The maintenance of closed Church of England churchyards can become the duty of the local authority through a government Order under the Burials Act. Unless specifically removed, the effects of consecration still apply so permission will be required from the relevant diocese to carry out works beyond minor maintenance.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs’ Guide for Burial Ground Managers (2006) contains advice on legal matters, service and standards, planning and finance for cemeteries and other burial grounds. Further information on cemeteries and graveyards can be found in two English Heritage publications: Paradise Preserved (2007) and Caring for Historic Graveyard and Cemetery Monuments (2011).