Step 3 of the Conservation & Listed Buildings Pathway encouraged the church to consult with the Connexional Conservation Officer at Concept drawing stage. This is to identify whether support for your application would be forthcoming, whether there are less harmful ways to mitigate against the harm, and whether your proposal is sympathetic to the significance of the listed building.
Following this consideration and your final review in Step 4, any modifications should be made and detailed proposals should be submitted for processing through the formal listed building application procedure. Details of the information required for your formal application to be validated can be found here.
At formal application stage, the consultation phase commences with bodies such as the national amenity societies, statutory bodies (Historic England, Cadw, Local Authority) and the Listed Buildings Advisory Committee (as set out in Step 2). A public notice will also be sent to you to post outside the church to give members of the public a 28-day period in which to offer their representations.
In some instances, you may be asked to post a newspaper article or public notice on your website. If, once these are collated, there are no objections to your scheme then a listed building decision notice will be sent to the Superintendent Minister and conservation authorisation can then be added to your online project (but only after Circuit consent has been recorded). Your project will then move to final consent from the District. Flow diagrams of the process can be inspected here.
Please note that the Listed Buildings Advisory Committee meet quarterly (January, April, July and October) so please do factor this into your timetable.
Occasionally, listed building permission is conditional and it is essential that any such conditions are discharged at the time the condition states. It maybe that the conditions outline a time limit by which the permission will cease, which needs to be observed, and a new application submitted when this period ends. The Connexional Conservation Officer will write formally to confirm any discharge of conditions.
Unlisted Buildings in Conservation Areas
For unlisted buildings in conservation areas only external works require consent under Standing Order 931 (1)(x), and a project will be required. Details of any external works should be forward to the Connexional Conservation Officer after Circuit consent has been input, although you can send informal proposals for comment before this if you require guidance on the need for consent. If the proposal satisfies the statutory requirement to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area, then Connexional authorisation (or conservation authorisation) will be added to your project. Notification of this is then sent to the District Property Secretary who adds final consent to your project.
The remainder of the information in this Pathway Step is generic and should apply to our Historic Places of Worship as to any other project but we would add the following specific considerations.
- When carrying out works to a Historic Place of Worship ,it is essential that the conservation accredited architect (see Step 2) is appointed to oversee and project manage the works, that way any unforeseen works arising during the project can be properly considered and addressed by your professional advisor in liaison with the Connexional Conservation Officer, who may request additional information or a modification to the Section 98.
- Getting the right builder will have an impact on the quality of the completed project. Contractors should have the right experience, qualifications and understanding of your historic place of worship as well as a full appreciation of traditional skills and materials. Using traditional building craftspeople encourages the continuation of such skills and crafts and should be reinforced in our contracts. Please refer to the guidance from Historic England on Heritage Skills and Traditional Building Skills. The National Heritage Training group has developed the Traditional Building Skills Training Toolkit.
It’s also important to remember that our Historic Places of Worship have special dispensation when dealing with Building Regulations. This is because, in our attempts to meet the Building Standards, historic fabric may be lost. Clearly, any regulations relating to fire protection needs to be adhered to but for all other Building Regulations we should look to make Reasonable Adjustments only. For further advise on this please contact the Connexional Conservation Officer.