The Diocese of Carlisle - Diocesan Advisory Committee

Diocesan Advisory Committee

Related to this section ...

Applying for a Faculty

We welcome enquiries from Parishes for early advice when you are considering work. Usually, if you are at the early stages of thinking about a project, or want advice of a general nature, the first point of contact should be your Archdeacon.

If you want advice of a more specific nature, our Property Secretary, Mr Brian Cook, should usually be your first point of contact, and he will give advice over the phone if he is able, or may refer you to one of our team of voluntary advisers of the DAC. Any advice is given on an "as is" basis by one of our voluntary advisers acting on an informal basis and is subject to acceptance by the Diocesan Advisory Committee. It does not carry any guarantee of acceptance by the DAC or, if you apply for a Faculty, by the Chancellor. Nor should it be considered a specification equivalent to that drawn up by an architect or other professional, or an appropriately registered tradesman.

If you are going to go ahead with a project needing a Faculty, you will at some point need to complete a form requesting a DAC Certificate, downloadable from this site. There is more information in advice sheets in the General download list below.

Mr J Brian Cook or Mrs Dorothy Leyland
Direct line - 01228 815403; Switchboard - 01228 522573
Direct e-mail - property@carlislediocese.org.uk

Statement of Significance and Statement of Need

It is now a legal requirement that, when applying for a Faculty, churches produce a Statement of Significance, and a Statement of Need.

The Statement of Significance is a general description of your church and its significance architecturally/artistically etc, but in other ways too. It is a "one off" piece of work which can accompany every Faculty application - though of course, you may want to edit it from time to time. Assistance and examples can be found on the Statements of Significance and Need page of the ChurchCare website. There is more information in advice sheets in the General download list below.

You will probably find it helpful, in writing a Statement of Need, to refer to the information about your Church contained in the Buildings Audit. Each Parish has been given a copy of its own report and Rural Deans have copies of reports of all the parishes in the Deanery. Click here for more general information about the Buildings Audit.

The Statement of Need is specific to the particular piece of work you are applying to do in the Faculty - and explains why you want to do something and how the grant of the Faculty will help you achieve that. Again, assistance and examples can be found on the Statements of Significance and Need page of the ChurchCare website.