The petitioners sought a retrospective faculty to display illuminated symbols on the Grade II listed church tower during seasonal periods: stars during Advent, poppies around Remembrance Sunday, and crosses during Lent, totalling 180 days annually. The symbols had been displayed without faculty since 2019, initially during the ‘Follow the Star’ campaign and subsequently expanded during lockdown when the church was closed to the community.
The displays consisted of LED symbols approximately 1 m high and 0.6 m wide, secured by rope through the tower’s open louvres without permanent fixings. They were illuminated from dusk until 11 pm and were intended to provide visible mission witness whilst the church remained closed. The parish had believed that temporary signage did not require a faculty.
A resident living 400–500 m away objected consistently, citing light pollution and disturbance to his family’s wellbeing. His property faced the tower’s north-west elevation across open space, providing direct sight lines to the illuminated crosses. He raised concerns about compliance with Church Buildings Council guidance and Institute of Lighting Professionals requirements, and drew parallels with Re All Saints, Chelsworth [2024] ECC SEI 4, where faculty was refused partly on neighbourliness grounds.
The Chancellor conducted a site visit at dusk, observing the displays from various positions including a garden on the same road as the objector. The planning authority advised that whilst listed building consent was covered by the faculty process, planning permission remained necessary for the advertisement displays, although the principle was considered broadly acceptable, with minimal heritage impact.
The court distinguished Chelsworth, noting the complainant there lived immediately adjacent to the church with direct access issues, whereas here the objector lived on a housing estate several hundred metres away. Whilst acknowledging the genuine nature of the complaint and the importance of neighbourliness, the court found the reaction highly subjective, noting the absence of complaints from any other residents despite the prominent displays.
The faculty was granted with modifications addressing the complainant’s concerns. Display hours were restricted from dusk until 10.30 pm (with Christmas Eve exception for late services), and conditions required planning permission application within four weeks and installation of a fused spur to eliminate extension leads. The court acknowledged that whilst the objections were insufficient to preclude the faculty, neighbourly concerns should not be ignored entirely.
