A CHURCH in Merseyside is allowed to continue to display illuminated symbols on its tower at certain times during the year, the Consistory Court of the diocese of Liverpool has ruled.
Shortly after the pandemic lockdown, the incumbent and PCC of All Saints’, Rainsford, installed temporary illuminated symbols on each face of the tower, as part of their mission outlook. They were: a star during the season of Advent, poppies around Remembrance Sunday, and crosses for the season of Lent. There would, therefore, be illuminated symbols for 180 days of the year.
The Grade II listed church was also floodlit with low-level sodium lighting to highlight its architectural and historic features. A previous faculty had been granted for the floodlighting. Because of the low-lying nature of the landscape and surrounding terrain, the building can be seen from the Rainsford Bypass.
It is not entirely clear when the illuminated signs were first erected. A statement of needs suggests that, in 2019, the stars were first positioned on the belfry elevations during Advent in light of the Church of England’s national “Follow the Star” campaign.
Because the stars were well received — and because the coronavirus lockdown resulted in church closures nationwide — the incumbent and PCC decided to expand the illuminated symbols to include the poppies to commemorate Remembrance Sunday. In early 2021, when the church remained closed, illuminated crosses were added. A seasonal pattern was therefore established in which the lights were switched on at dusk until around 11 p.m.
The illuminated symbols were thought to provide conversations central to the mission of the church at that time. There had, however, been no consultation with the DAC, the Archdeacons, or the planning authority, and a faculty had not initially been applied for. It was thought that, for temporary signs promoting its mission, such formalities were not necessary.
In each of the years that the crosses were displayed, the PCC had received a complaint from a local resident, Mr Banks, who lived on a small housing estate about 500 metres from the church. Because of a complaint directed to the Archdeacon of Knowsley and Sefton, the Ven. Pete Spiers, the diocese and the DAC understood that the correct procedures had not been followed.
In early 2024, the diocesan Chancellor, the Worshipful Judge Graham Wood KC, was informed. In the light of the objection from Mr Banks, the Chancellor directed that the illuminated displays be taken down until a full faculty application was made and the matter could be considered in detail.
In determining the faculty application, the Chancellor considered the disruption caused to Mr Banks and his family. Mr Banks had said that illuminating crosses created obtrusive light pollution in his bedrooms, and that the brilliant LED light source created significant glare that had not been mitigated in any way. This, he said, had had an effect on the health and well-being of his extended family, including his grandchildren, who were reluctant to come and stay, and whose mental health had been disrupted.
In his ruling, the Chancellor acknowledged that the symbols had been displayed unlawfully for a significant period, and that churches that paid “scant regard to the faculty jurisdiction or blatantly proceed to carry out works without the authority of a consistory court [could] expect little indulgence, and quite likely the refusal of a retrospective faculty”. He accepted, however, that the present case was “an innocent breach of ecclesiastical law and not one which should impinge upon the merits of a faculty grant”.
As to Mr Banks’s objections, there was no evidence that the illumination from the crosses created such an intensity of glare that could not be blocked out by curtains or blinds. That the illuminated crosses could be seen did “not mean that they are necessarily polluting or obtrusive”, the Chancellor said.
Mr Banks and his family genuinely believed themselves to be affected by the illuminated signs, however — factors, the Chancellor said, “which the church should not ignore . . . not least because of the Gospel exhortation of Christ towards neighbourly love”.
The Chancellor concluded that the faculty should be granted. The timings of the displays should be restricted from dusk until 10.30 p.m., except for the illumination of the stars on Christmas Eve. If the church held a later service, this could be extended by 30 minutes after its conclusion.
The conditions of the faculty were that planning permission must be formally obtained and that there must be a fused spur in the belfry to enable electrical connection, with the elimination of extension leads.
