CHURCHES AND THE ECCLESIASTICAL EXEMPTION Putting a mobile phone installation on a listed building needs consent from the planning authorities unless ecclesiastical exemption applies. Knaresborough Holy Trinity Church, a grade II listed building and place of worship, is exempt from normal listed building control. Instead it needs to be granted “a faculty” through the Church planning control system. How ecclesiastical exemption applies and the required code of practice for denominations' internal control systems can be found in: Statements of National Planning Policy -Planning Policy Guidance Notes PPG15 (section 8). PPG15 Details of the Church of England internal control system are laid down in Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 . n.b. In Scotland a pilot scheme requiring proposals for any exterior works to be submitted to the planning authority and Historic Scotland, was introduced on 1 January 1999 for a trial period, works to the interior of a listed church building remaining exempt. The local control of the jurisdiction is exercised through the Bishop, the Chancellor, and the of the Diocese advised by the Diocesan Advisory Committee. The control of Faculty Jurisdiction is exercised by the Chancellor of the Diocese – the Consistory Court judge.   We found that the best person to get information about the Church process from was the Diocesan Registrar, a solicitor for the Diocese. Holy Trinity Church is in the Diocese of Ripon & Leeds. The office is the Diocesan Registry.   The Diocesan Advisory Committee gave the go ahead to the Vodafone plans for Holy Trinity Church in 1999.  Vodafone have since been given Conservation area consent (rejected by local planning office but given on appeal to The Secretary of State).  A notice of petition for faculty must be posted outside the church.  Any written objections then had to sent to within 14 days. (We sent in initial objections without waiting for the notice to be posted - just to be sure we wouldn’t miss the deadline). The notice when it appeared was worded using the most obscure terms, we had to phone the Diocesan Registrar to request an explanation. Most people who saw the notice would probably have just given up.  Where there is no or little objection to application for grant of faculty the Chancellor may grant faculty without a hearing.  As there were about 60 written objections, many considered reasonable, the matter has to go to the Consistory Court of the Diocese.  The Chancellor then has to write to the parties giving a ‘directions order’ basically setting a deadline and matters to be covered in the initial ‘directions hearing’. It included: Direction 2) the petitions for Vodafone aerials on Holy Trinity, Knaresborough and St. Margaret, Hawes should be considered together as the main common concern is health issues. Direction 3) objectors against each petition to provide names & addresses of up to 3 people to represent the interests of the objectors.     The Directions Hearing was quite informal, being held in Sharrow Church, Ripon, on Saturday 14th December 02. The Chancellor is a practicing QC who also performs church duties, the use of a Church to hold the hearings is to keep court costs down.  The Chancellor urged us to concentrate on the health aspects of our objections. Though we feel there are other important matters, it appears that most would be unlikely to succeed having already been argued elsewhere, only the matter of morality has also not yet been considered.  The court relies on expert witnesses to put the case. Vodafone have their own in-house expert witness.We put forward Dr. Gerard Hyland, a physicist who has researched the dangers of mobile phone base-station radiation (Vodafone weren’t pleased about this – now we just need to raise some money to pay Dr. Hyland. FUNDRAISING DONATIONS - please help if you can.).  The Chancellor wants to make it possible for matters to be covered in a one day hearing and gave Directions aimed at reducing the hearing time: There can be up to 6 witnesses of fact for each party, their statements to be submitted before the hearing.  The other party can query these statements and the first party must then reply. These are all to be submitted by e-mail before the hearing by deadlines set at the Directions hearing. Where there is no disagreement from the other party the witness need not attend the hearing. e.g. “ I have 2 children who play in the garden 40m from the spire” would be unlikely to be contested.   The Consistory Court hearing is set for Saturday 1st March 03. It is a public hearing. Each party is responsible for their own costs. It normally falls to the parish to pay court costs. Only if objections were ‘unreasonable’ would any court costs be awarded against the objectors, this would apply to all those who sent written objections but it seems that this would be a nominal figure say £10-£15 per person. Objection on health grounds was deemed to be a reasonable matter. (To be certain of avoiding costs we suggest that all other objections are withdrawn in writing before the hearing). The Chancellor will reach a verdict some time after the hearing.  An appeal against the decision of Consistory Court can be taken to the Court of Arches. (The Court of Arches, founded in the thirteenth century, was the ecclesiastical court of appeal for the province of Canterbury). The judge of this Arches Court is referred to as Dean of The Arches. Appeal is a long and expensive process. If the verdict goes against Vodafone then they seem certain to make an appeal, but it seems that they need leave to do this. Explanation of Faculty system by the Diocesan Registrar and by Phil Willis  MP .