Diocese of Sodor and Man

Sodor and Man Diocesan Registry

Faculty Procedure — Private Applications

This guidance is for private persons who wish to apply for a faculty to permit works affecting a consecrated church or chapel or consecrated ground.

See separate pages:

for an application by the minister and churchwardens of a parish as burial authority or on behalf of the parochial church council
for an application by a private person —

for a memorial, or an inscription on a memorial, in a parish burial ground
for exhumation of human remains

General

Normally, permission for any works affecting consecrated buildings or ground (a "faculty") must be obtained from the Vicar General (the judge of the ecclesiastical court of the Isle of Man).

In all cases preliminary advice should be sought from the Archdeacon (email).

Application for Faculty

An application to the Vicar General for a faculty must be made through the Sodor and Man Diocesan Registry. The address of the Registry is:

Sodor and Man Diocesan Registry
Stamford House
Piccadilly
York YO1 9PP

The applicant should send the following to the Registry:

Form 1, Standard Information, fully completed PDF or Word);
Form 3, Application for Faculty, fully completed (PDF or Word)
the fees payable (see below)
a summary of the works or other proposals
any relevant designs
any relevant plans
any relevant photographs;
a copy of any planning approval granted in respect of the works or other proposals;
a copy of any registered building consent granted in respect of the works or other proposals
any advice or other material relating to the environmental implications of the works or other proposals
any other documents giving particulars of the works or other proposals
for proposals involving making changes to registered buildings:

a statement of significance; and
a statement of needs.

Care should be taken to complete the forms in full. It is important that the applicant explains his or her interest in the matter. The applicant should describe the works in full and also sign and date Form 1 and Form 3. Incomplete forms will be returned to the Applicant for completion in full; this will delay the process.

If assistance is required in completing the application, please either email the Registry Assistant or telephone 01904 623487.

Fees

There are fees payable on lodging an application for faculty; failure to send the fees with the application will delay the process. Please staple two cheques to Form 3, Application for Faculty, as follows:

£220.00 made payable to "Sodor and Man Diocesan Registry", (the Registrar's fee)
£53.00 made payable to "Mr W H Connell" (the Vicar-General's fee)

Consultation with Diocesan Advisory Committee

The Registrar will check that the application is complete and in order and will then send the documents to the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches ("DAC").

The DAC will either recommend the works, not recommend the works, or not object to the works. The DAC will send its advice in Form 2 to the applicant.

Public notice of proposals

Upon receipt of Form 2, if the applicant wishes to proceed with the application, the applicant must then give 28 days' public notice of the proposals using Form 4 (PDF or Word). The Registry is able to give further guidance on the display of public notices.

If any objections are received, it is likely that additional fees will be incurred. Further fees may also be payable if the Vicar General issues directions, or if further work is required to be done by either the Vicar General or the Registrar.

Consideration of application

After the application has been lodged in the Registry and the requisite public notice given, the application will be sent to the Vicar General (the judge of the Consistory Court of the Diocese); it is the Vicar General who decides whether a faculty should be granted.

The proposed works must not be commenced until a faculty has been granted. The faculty is the legal authority for undertaking the works. An order should not be placed with the contractors until a faculty has been issued. If work is done without authority, it is likely that additional fees will be incurred.

If a faculty is not granted, the fees will not be returned.

June 2017