The petitioner sought a faculty to dispose of by sale a 16th century communion cup valued at £18,500, a 16th century paten valued at £8,500 and a 17th century silver footed paten valued at £5,500.
The 16th century items were not used by the parish for health and safety and security reasons; the 17th century item was not used for security reasons alone.
The petitioners sought the sale of the items as the parish was struggling to pay its parish share and cash reserves were severely depleted. The parish could not afford to insure the items for their true value and the quinquennial inspection report itemised repair costs within the next five years of approximately £80,000. The DAC's opinion was that the short-term financial gain from selling the items did not justify the disposal of historical assets. The Church Buildings Council objected (without becoming a party opponent) to the sale of the items on the basis they had significance to the town and should only be removed in the most exceptional circumstances.
Applying Re St Lawrence Oakley with Wootton St Lawrence [2014] Court of Arches, the court identified three categories of disposal:
1. Where the item was placed on long term loan;
2. Where the item was to be sold to a museum, art gallery or diocesan treasury;
3. Where the item was to be sold regardless of who the purchaser was.
Where disposal was being sought, the Court of Arches in St Lawrence Oakley held that, due to the presumption against sale, selling of historical assets will rarely be permitted. It is for the court to decide whether the grounds for sale are sufficiently compelling to outweigh the strong presumption against sale.
In this case, the petitioners sought the sale of items on the basis of financial emergency. The court concluded that, whilst financial emergency could be a sufficiently compelling reason to outweigh the strong presumption against sale, the temporary inability to pay the parish share, and the prospect of the cost of carrying out repairs, did not amount to financial emergency. Therefore, the petition for a faculty was dismissed.
