The court had authorised the covering of the roof of the south aisle of a Grade II* listed church on a temporary basis following two instances of theft of the roof lead. In reliance on that authority, the petitioners installed a Dryseal GRP (glass reinforced polyester) roofing system. They now petitioned for a faculty to authorise the retention of the GRP roof on a permanent basis. While it was common ground that the roof should not be re-covered in lead, the Diocesan Advisory Committee did not recommend the proposal for the permanent retention of the GRP roof, on the basis that the appropriate material was terne-coated steel. English Heritage and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings took the same view. It was common ground that the introduction of the GRP roof would not affect the special character of the listed building. The chancellor held that the greater expense of terne-coated steel as compared with GRP could not be a determining factor if steel was a more suitable material. In any event, the relative cost of the two materials had to be considered in the light of the greater proven longevity of terne-coated steel. There was a very low risk of terne-coated steel being stolen. On these factors, any arguments in favour of GRP were not sufficient to outweigh the established preference for terne-coated steel where the risk of theft precluded the use of lead. The chancellor went on to consider the insurance position. If a metallic roof of any kind was in place, the petitioners' insurance cover would be limited to £5,000 (or £10,000 if an alarm was installed). There were various valuable items in the south aisle, including an organ which had previously suffered serious water damage when lead was stolen. While the insurance position had to be taken into account, it was a factor of very limited weight and could not render an otherwise unsuitable material suitable. It did not justify the use of GRP where the balance of the other factors was strongly against it. A faculty would be issued to authorise the retention of the GRP roof for ten years, after which it would have to be replaced by a roof of terne-coated steel or an equivalent metallic material. [Alexander McGregor]