Any work involving the demolition of a listed place of worship, or for its alteration or extension in any manner which would affect its character as a building of special archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic interest, will require consent.
Listed ecclesiastical buildings for the time being in use for ecclesiastical purposes, which belong to:
are exempt from the following local authority controls:
- Listed Building consent
- Conservation Area consent
- Building preservation notices
- Compulsory acquisition of buildings in need of repair
- Urgent works notices
Instead the 'exempt denominations' operate their own independent systems of control which are equivalent to local authority controls.
All other faiths and denominations are subject to normal local authority controls.
Code of Practice
The systems of control organised by the exempt denominations must comply with the Government Code of Practice (Annex A to DCMS 2010 'The Operation of the Ecclesiastical Exemption - Guidance') in terms of due process, rigour, consultation, openness, transparency and accountability.
Under the Code of Practice, proposals must be advertised and consultation must take place with the local planning authority, the relevant national amenity societies and English Heritage about any works that would otherwise require listed building consent.
It also points that each decision-making body 'should 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'.
Separately listed structures attached to or within the curtilage of a listed church building such as lychgates, charnel houses, chest tombs or boundary walls may also be exempt if they are "for the time being in use for ecclesiastical purposes".
If there is any doubt about whether a structure qualifies, the local planning authority and denominational body should be consulted.
Scheduled Monument Consent
Churchyard features may be scheduled monuments and therefore subject to the need for scheduled monument consent if any work to them is to be done.
An ecclesiastical building itself cannot be scheduled, so long as it remains "for the time being in use for ecclesiastical purposes".
Demolition
Even for exempt denominations, listed building consent or conservation area consent is required for the demolition of a church, except in the case of Church of England churches demolished under the provisions of a pastoral or redundancy scheme under the Pastoral Measure 1983.
In such cases the Church Commissioners will request a non-statutory public inquiry if there are reasoned objections from the local planning authority, English Heritage or the national amenity societies.
Planning Permission
Planning permission and, if necessary, building regulations approval, must be obtained from the local planning authority for any new building or for any alteration or extension that materially affects the external appearance of an existing place of worship.
There is no ecclesiastical exemption from planning permission.
