The petitioners sought a faculty authorising a significant scheme of re-ordering to Sherborne Abbey. The proposals included converting the existing two-storey vestry space in the north-east corner of the church to toilets; the creation of a new vestry space in the north transept and adjacent Wykeham Chapel; the relocation of a monument from Wykeham Chapel into the north quire aisle; the introduction of a hospitality unit into the Lady Chapel for the provision of tea and coffee after services; improvements to accessibility; and confirmation of the introduction of a large statue of the Madonna into the Lady Chapel. The petition was the subject of wide consultation and public notice over an extended period. Local objectors raised concerns about the substantial costs of the proposed works, the introduction of the hospitality unit and its impact on the Lady Chapel as a space for worship, and the finish and design of the vestry screen.

The Chancellor granted the faculty. The public benefit of the proposed works would significantly outweigh the low to moderate harm they would cause to the special significance of the building. A less harmful proposal would not achieve the desired benefit.

The Chancellor considered and rejected the submission that it was wrong for the PCC to spend such significant sums of money on this scheme when a more modest scheme would be sufficient. It was for the PCC, as the democratically elected representative body on the parish, to decide how to use the funds at its disposal (see Re St Peter, East Bridgford [2016] ECC S&N 4). It was not for the Chancellor to interfere in the PCC’s decision as to how it should allocate its resources, particularly in a case such as this where it gave meticulous and lengthy attention to the proposed works and their alternatives, and incorporated various mitigations into its proposals. The Chancellor therefore concluded that the same public benefit could not be achieved by less harmful proposals.