Birmingham Consistory Court: Cardinal Ch, October 2005
The Diocese sought an instrument under the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 to demolish a church which had been damaged by a tornado in July 2005. The Victorian Society were informed and objected. The church, before the damage, no longer met the mission and ministry needs of the Diocese. The chancellor decided that neither the quality of the building nor its regular and heavy repair demands were persuasive in determining whether the church should be demolished; he was solely concerned with whether the section 18 test had been met. The chancellor had been on a site visit and had read the reports of an architect, a structural engineer and a health and safety officer. The chancellor concluded that the loosened masonry was a continuing danger to visitors, part of the building was unstable, the guttering was a danger, water ingress could cause further structural damage and the eventual collapse of parts of the building and that accordingly any repair work would expose builders to danger. He concluded that the site could not adequately be sealed off to prevent break-ins. The Society's objections included the fact that the building was not in imminent danger of collapse, that it would set a dangerous precedent, that a valuable church was being demolished, that it could be repaired and that there was no 'urgency' within the meaning of the Measure. The chancellor agreed that the building was not in imminent danger of collapse but concluded it could take place quite soon, but noted that 'imminent collapse' was not a section 18 test. The chancellor concluded that ordering the demolition of a church in Birmingham as a result of tornado damage was unlikely to set a precedent; he agreed that a valuable church was being demolished but identified that this was not 'wanton vandalism' but economic reality, as too was the idea of not repairing the church. He concluded that matters were urgent and that there was insufficient time to obtain a faculty, and with regret signed the instrument.
(2006) 8 Ecc LJ 493-494
