GUIDELINES FOR CONTROL OVER WORK AT ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS

GUIDELINES FOR CONTROL OVER WORK AT ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS

The General Assembly in May 1998 passed new legislation regarding control over work at Ecclesiastical buildings which came into effect on 1st January 1999

The basic "rule of thumb" is that all work at buildings requires some form of approval although, inevitably, there are exceptions. If you are thinking about carrying out work at any of your Congregation’s buildings, whether repairs or alterations, you should check with your Presbytery Property Convener or Presbytery Clerk to see if you need formal Presbytery approval. Your Presbytery is the most important body under the new system – work which requires approval must not go ahead unless Presbytery agrees. All requests for approval to carry out work and to make applications for financial assistance must be made to the Presbytery – not directly to the General Trustees or to Historic Scotland.

If you propose to carry out alterations particularly to your Church or to any buildings adjacent to your Church, then you should contact the Consultative Committee on Artistic Matters for informal advice before plans have been prepared or proposals have become finalised. The Committee members have vast practical experience and a wealth of technical expertise which is available, free of charge. As this Committee will be consulted by the General Trustees at a later stage in the formal process, early input from the Committee is likely to let matters progress smoothly.

The responsibility for financing work on your buildings rests squarely on your Congregation’s Financial Board. If your Financial Board want advice about the funding for a particular project, the General Trustees should be contacted at an early stage. They will be happy to give advice on possible financial help and/or appoint representatives to discuss particular aspects which may be causing difficulty. The main source of funding within the Church of Scotland is the Central Fabric Fund which is administered by the General Trustees. An application form as well as information about other funding sources can be obtained from General Trustees’ Secretary’s Department.

The General Trustees have appointed Energy, Lighting and Sound Consultants who can give independent, unbiased specialist advice for very reasonable fees. For further information, contact the General Trustees’ Secretary’s Department.

The Regulations apply whether or not title to the building concerned is vested solely in local trustees, or in local trustees under Assembly control or in the General Trustees.

You should consider whether the work which you are proposing to carry out requires the appointment of a professional adviser such as a Surveyor and/or Architect. There will be situations where the General Trustees and/or other agencies such as Historic Scotland will insist on such an appointment.

Unless provision has been made to the contrary, all work – repairs or alterations – requires the approval of Presbytery before the work can start.

General Trustees’ approval is also required

for alterations at Churches and Halls and for certain works at Manses and/or

where the Financial Limit is invoked.

Presbytery will have to identify if the work is a repair or an alteration.

In the case of repairs Presbytery has power to set, by way of Resolution, an amount as a threshold below which its approval is not required. Financial Boards of Congregations can therefore spend up to the Resolution limit without any Presbytery involvement. The cost of such repairs will not be taken into account when calculating if the Financial Limit is invoked.

Presbytery will have to identify if the work (whether repair or alteration) at the particular building invokes the Financial Limit which is currently £50,000. This will happen in one of three ways:

Either the cost of the present work exceeds £50,000

Or the cost of the present work PLUS the cost of the work at the same building which has been authorised by Presbytery in the past three years exceeds £50,000

Or the cost of the present work PLUS the cost of work at the same building which the Congregation is likely to have to carry out in the next three years exceeds £50,000.

There are three points to remember:

The cost of the work will include professional fees and VAT where appropriate.

If the Congregation’s buildings are on separate sites, then each will have its own Financial Limit. Where a complex of buildings includes a combination of Church, Hall or Manse, then one Financial Limit will apply to the complex.

If the Financial Limit is invoked then the Congregation will always require the approval of the Presbytery and the General Trustees who themselves will have to obtain the views of the Committee on Parish Reappraisal.

Presbytery will have to consult its records to ascertain the cost of work approved over the past three years. Presbytery will also have to consider in light of the most recent five yearly Property Inspection Report what expenditure is likely over the next three years.

The Presbytery will have its own way of processing applications for approval but the General Assembly has directed that Presbytery must consider all relevant factors including

the Presbytery’s Reappraisal Plan

the number of buildings for which the Congregation is responsible

whether the particular building is likely to be required in the medium to long term

the need for the work in the interests of safety or to preserve the value of the building as a marketable asset

the impact of the proposed expenditure on the Congregation’s other commitments e.g. contributions towards Ministry costs, Mission and Aid, etc.

In the case of alterations which do not invoke the Financial Limit and cost less than the figure set by way of Resolution then Presbytery approval may be given under delegated powers by the Presbytery Property Convener or other nominated person.

A new feature of the procedures is that when Congregations have to seek approval from both Presbytery and the General Trustees all applications must be made using one or more of the relevant Forms.

Relevant Forms are

- The Property Expenditure form (white). This is the Presbytery Form and is required in all cases whether or not General Trustees approval is required.

The General Form (white). This is required in all cases where approval from the General Trustees is needed.

The Financial Limit Form (pink). This is required only in cases where the Financial Limit is invoked.

The Central Fabric Fund Application Form (green). This is required only if an application for financial assistance from the fund is being made.

The Historic Scotland Form (blue). This is the only form which is not completed by the Congregation.

It is envisaged that Congregations will obtain the relevant forms from stocks held in the Presbytery Office although the forms will also be available directly from the General Trustees’ Secretary’s Department.

In large or complex projects such as major restorations involving funding from various sources, it is likely that approvals for the various aspects will be dealt with in several stages over a period of time.

There will be occasions when Presbytery and/or the General Trustees will give approval in principle subject to one or more conditions being fulfilled – e.g. receiving detailed plans or a certain level of funding being in place.

There are certain types of work which do not – unless the Financial Limit is invoked – require the approval of the General Trustees. In general terms these involve repairs at Manses or straightforward redecoration of Churches and Halls.

There are certain types of work which do not – unless the Financial Limit is invoked – require the approval of the General Trustees so long as the Consultative Committee on Artistic Matters and/or the General Trustees’ Energy Consultant have approved. Accordingly it can help to speed up the formal process if the Artistic Matters Committee and/or the Energy Consultant are consulted at an early stage.