A faculty was sought for the re-ordering of the churchyard of this Grade I listed church with a significant civic role and prominent place in the city. The plans included paving, removing the wall and gates, felling trees, new drainage, car parking and seating. The plans were in conjunction with the City Council's development of the area around the church. Planning permission had been granted.

The only significant objection was to the removal of the wall. The Victorian Society argued that the removal would cause significant harm, despite an amendment to the scheme to reduce the amount of wall removed. They contended that the wall was an important part of the whole church setting and that to remove any part of it would be harmful. The Statement of Significance identified the wall as of only moderate significance and the Church Buildings Council and Historic England were of the view that the harm caused by its removal would only be moderate.

The revitalising of the area of the city around the church and greater use of the church building for civic services and events had reversed the church's fortunes. Numbers had grown and the church was now valued in the civic life of the city. While the preservation of the church's history was important, the Victorian period from which the wall dated was only part of its history. The wall acted as a barrier between the town and the church. Applying the Duffield guidelines the chancellor held that the future story of the church, its mission and public role within the community all provided benefits that outweighed the moderate harm that might be caused by removal of the wall. The historic position of the wall and boundary could be marked, as proposed, with a bronze line indicating the route of the wall removed and different coloured paving either side of the line. [Catherine Shelley]