The petition sought authority, among other things, for the construction of a foyer at the west end of the Grade II listed church, linking it to a new parish centre, and for the insertion of doors in the west wall of the church providing access to the foyer. The construction of the new parish centre was uncontroversial and was authorised by faculty following an interim judgment. Planning permission was granted for the foyer and the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) recommended the proposals but their certificate contained several provisos relating to its design. The Victorian Society was opposed to the foyer being constructed at all. They argued that there was no need for the church to be linked to the parish centre and that the foyer would detract from the visual amenity of the church. The DAC raised questions as to the size and design of the proposed doors.

Applying the guidelines in Re St Alkmund, Duffield [2013] Fam 158, the chancellor held that the proposals would result in harm to the significance of the church as a building of special architectural or historic interest. In assessing the seriousness of the harm he took account of the fact that the expert advice was generally supportive of the construction of a foyer linking the church with the parish centre and that the particular proposal had received planning permission. It was a matter of very fine judgment as to whether the DAC's design preferences were better than what was proposed. There were advantages and disadvantages to both. The harm was not so serious as to prevent the grant of a faculty. The benefits in terms of the church's mission and of ‘presenting a welcoming face to the community’ were highly significant. As to the proposed doors, they were an integral part of the scheme, their design was appropriate and was to the benefit of the church in developing its mission to the community. The chancellor was not persuaded of the merits of an associated proposal to remove and dispose of the font from the west end of the church and considered that it would be better for it to be relocated within the church as part of a subsequent phase of development. [Alexander McGregor]