How to Make Alterations to your Church Building
This path guides you through the necessary steps for making changes to your church building, whether they involve reordering schemes, alterations or extensions.
Most likely, you will need to follow this path in conjunction with How to Develop Your Church Building, which sets out the thinking and planning required for extended, community or commercial use of the church.
If your proposal involves artworks, furnishings, fittings or memorials, you will need to follow the steps for How to Conserve your Church's Contents.
4. Consultations and Publicity
1. Preliminary Steps
Your proposals to make changes to your church should follow a PCC resolution to fulfil a perceived need for reordering, the provision of facilities or more space. It is advisable to talk to your architect who could explain the implications of the proposed works at your next PCC meeting.
It may be useful to set up a working group to steer the project which should include the PCC Treasurer and the incumbent. Among the first considerations of the group should be determining the actual need for the alterations, the significance of the building, likely costs and available funds.
If you conclude that your requirements make an alteration necessary, you need to consider whether and how your church building can accommodate it. Any alteration to a church's interior or exterior will have a noticeable impact on the building's character and atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to understand the church building before drawing up detailed plans. Knowing your church's history and significance will help you plan your proposed work with the least impact on important historic fabric and contents. An awareness of archaeologically significant areas will also help you determine which works will need archaeological intervention and minimise the archaeological impact. This research will help you to write the Statement of Significance which is required for the faculty application if you are making changes to a listed church. For some larger churches with complex proposals it may be appropriate to write a fuller Conservation Management Plan instead.
In the case of proposed alterations and extensions, consider whether you really need an extension. Bear in mind the cost of a well-designed and sympathetic extension built with high-quality materials. It can be very helpful to assess the needs of the congregation and the wider community, for example in the form of community research or a parish audit (see Step 1 of How to Develop Your Church Building). This will help you in deciding which facilities are really necessary, and what they are needed for, and in writing a Statement of Need, which is also essential for your faculty application if you are making changes to a listed church.
Consider all the options, from internal alterations to building an extension or a detached structure. Could you use an alternative building nearby, perhaps?
When considering what form your alteration should take you also need to consider the listing status of the building, whether it is in a designated Conservation Area, how any building work would affect the churchyard (especially graves or protected trees), whether old building services need to be updated and new ones provided. It is important to think about the future sustainability of the new facilities, in terms of funding, servicing and maintaining. If your proposals involve building in the churchyard, you need to consult your diocesan registrar as early as possible.
If you plan the reordering of the interior or the seating, whether for liturgical reasons or in order to create more space for other activities, consider carefully what the interior would look like after reordering.
After writing the Statements of Significance and Need you should consult your DAC on your proposals. Early consultation will save you the cost and time associated with developing unsuitable schemes.
For all proposals it could be very useful to visit parishes who have done similar schemes of reordering, alterations or extensions. Your DAC Secretary might be able to provide you with contact information. However, bear in mind that the project has to suit your specific community, parish and church building. Every church and community is different and other people's solutions will not be suitable to your building and community.
2. Making Plans
Once you are clear about what alterations you would like to make in your church, develop a brief out of the Statements of Significance and Need. The brief communicates your requirements to the architect. This should set out what you want to achieve and your key constraints, such as a meeting space for x people, accessible toilet, facilities which do not adversely affect the medieval arcade etc. Do not specify what form you want the alteration to take; that is where the architect's expertise comes in. However, you should be prepared to discuss the brief with the architect as he might suggest more suitable options.
Consult your inspecting architect first. If he has experience and expertise in the area of your proposal, you might commission him to do the work. Alternatively, you could interview other suitably qualified architects. Be aware that alterations to a historic church building need to be sensitively handled and not every architect has experience in such work. Your DAC will be able to advise you.
Once you have appointed an architect, he will prepare designs for the consideration of the PCC. Ask him to prepare alternative schemes based on your brief which would fulfil your needs and minimise the impact on the building. The chosen design will be developed into further drawings and specifications. Together with the Statements of Significance and Need these form the supporting material for your faculty application. It is highly advisable to consult your DAC, and other parties (see below) on the scheme before preparing full drawings and specifications. Do not enter into any financial commitments with contractors until you have a faculty. If the proposed works could have archaeological implications, consult your diocesan archaeological adviser at an early stage.
Be aware that your architect will have to take into account considerations such as health and safety, fire safety and disabled access. If your proposals include new services, ventilation, plumbing or drainage, for example for a small kitchen or toilet facilities, these may require archaeological investigation and recording of the churchyard and affected areas.
3. Finance
Planning the budget for your project needs to be given proper attention from the start. Based on the architect's costings for the alterations, the PCC treasurer or a project treasurer needs to draw up a budget and consider how the parish is going to raise the necessary funds. The budget can be a basic document listing your income and expenditure.
While drawing up a budget plan can seem daunting, a carefully and realistically costed plan will be enormously helpful, both for demonstrating your effective management to potential funders and steering the project. If you regularly compare your actual expenditure to your budget you will be able to act in time to remedy the problem. Before submitting your budget to potential funding bodies, get a competent third party to check your budget for accuracy and comprehensibility. A useful budget needs to include all professional fees, legal and administrative charges, the cost of archaeological work, VAT, plus margins for contingencies and over-spend. Establish the VAT status of the project as early as possible. If in doubt, contact your local Customs and Excise office.
For larger and more complex projects it may be useful to engage a quantity surveyor with experience in historic buildings, who can keep a tight control on costs, and/or a professional fundraiser. Bear in mind that their fees will add to the cost of the project, for example the cost of professional fundraising may be up to 8-10% of the total project cost.
Funderfinder, a UK charity producing resources for grant-seekers, provides a free software called Budget Yourselves which provides advice about the process of making a budget, its contents, and how to work out accurate costs.
Depending on the type of your project, you may be eligible for grant-aid. Most funders are more likely to assist you if you can demonstrate that you are actively trying to raise money yourself. The Funding pages of this website will be able to give further and more detailed advice on grants, funding and fundraising.
Make sure that you have all the necessary funding before you give the go ahead. For bigger projects it may be necessary to split the project into several stages which can proceed while funds are being raised for the next stage.
4. Consultations and Publicity
For major changes to a church's interior or exterior appearance you need to consult the relevant bodies and stakeholders early and widely. These include not just your congregation but also the local community, the local planning authority, your DAC, the national amenity societies, any local amenity or heritage societies and English Heritage (for churches listed Grade I or II*). The Church Buildings Council should also be consulted on major changes to a listed church or proposals which affect important contents.
In addition, you should also publish your proposals in the local neighbourhood, together with drawings, an outline timetable and possibly a funding appeal.
During these consultations, your proposals (and the costings) may need to be adapted. Be aware that the best solution for your building and community may only be found after extensive consultation. Don't be disheartened if your proposals are not accepted unanimously. Early consultations and open discussion will lead to a better result in the long run.
5. The Legal Process
When planning any works to a church, its contents and churchyard, you will need to apply for a faculty and, in some cases, also for the appropriate secular permissions.
It is important to supply the DAC with as much information about your proposal as possible. Major projects will probably need consultation with them several times as the scheme evolves. By the time you come to apply for faculty you will need to have prepared full material which usually includes the Statements of Significance and Need, a complete set of architectural drawings, the design specification, a schedule of works, photographs and other documentation such as a supporting statement from your inspecting architect or a conservation report for works of art and other objects. Without adequate documentation, your application may be delayed or refused. Both the DAC and the Chancellor will require sufficient documentation to prove that the proposed works are necessary and that the character of the church as a building of special architectural or historic interest is not adversely affected (or that, if its is, the adverse effect is outweighed by the benefits of the proposal).
The DAC and your architect will be able to advise you on suitable contractors for specific types of alteration. Most alterations of historic churches are beyond the expertise of a general builder and will require specialist contractors. In addition to asking for competitive estimates based on the same written specification from at least three different contractors, it may be useful to obtain references in regard to a contractor's work on historic church buildings. However, although you will need to know the costs of the works by the time you apply for faculty, do not enter into any financial commitments with any contractors until you have all the necessary permissions.
For any external alteration and any additions, including extensions, you will also need to apply for the planning permission of the local planning authority. They will consider any planning constraints, such as whether the church is located in a Conservation Area or whether any trees are protected, functional matters and aesthetic considerations. Local planning authorities also need to consult English Heritage and the appropriate national amenity societies when considering applications affecting Grade I or Grade II* listed buildings.
While churches are exempt from the secular consents required for listed structures and scheduled monuments, the presence of any listed monuments in the churchyard or scheduled monuments underneath or around the building which are affected by the building works requires the appropriate permissions. If in doubt contact your local authority or your diocesan archaeological adviser.
It is advisable to apply for a faculty and the secular permissions (where necessary) at the same time.
6. Commissioning the Work
You should only start the work and enter into any contracts after you have been granted a faculty, or other necessary permissions.
Together with the architect, plan the implications of the works. Will it be possible to continue church services and other activities undisturbed during the works? Do you need to make alternative provision? If do, what?
All artworks, furnishings and fittings inside the church, on the exterior and in the churchyard need to be adequately protected during building works.
Once the works have been completed, don't forget to send a certificate of completion to the diocesan registry.
November 2007
Further Information
Church Extensions and Adaptations (Church House Publishing, 2nd edition, 2002).
SPAB, Statement 1: Church Extensions (2007) (available on the SPAB website)
English Heritage, New Work in Historic Places of Worship (2003)
(available on the English Heritage website)
