Proposal to stop parishes having to pay for rectories

The States is set to debate a Policy & Resources report looking to resolve issues that have arisen from parish church congregations combining as pluralities. That has caused a problem where one rector covers two parishes, but only one parish covers the cost of housing the church's minister.

Currently St Saviour’s covers the cost of housing the Rev. Mark Charmley, who also serves Torteval, which does not contribute to his living costs. The P&R proposal will allow parochial taxes to be used to maintain a rectory in a different parish, where that rectory is occupied by a rector serving their parish.

Deputies Al Brouard and Sue Aldwell have tried to shift the debate to face the bigger issue of whether parishes should be providing accommodation at all.

‘In the 21st century with a more secular society, parishioners who are increasingly from more varied religious backgrounds, and financial pressures on parish funds, the basis of a continued duty or obligation to provide rectors and their households with housing free of charge is difficult to justify,’ they said.

Their proposal would abolish the customary law duty to provide accommodation from January 2035.

Deputy Brouard said that the Parochial Ecclesiastical Rates Review Committee – which looked at all aspects of church property in the early 2000s – did not finish the job and had left rectories hanging on parishes.

‘This will allow the ratepayers of the parish to decide how to take it forward,’ he said.

‘Some parishes may wish to continue housing a rector, some may not wish to provide facilities at all.’

He suggested parishes might look to create rental agreements with the Church of England, with either nominal or commercial rents. He felt the abolition of the requirement to house a rector was long overdue, noting that the UK had scrapped the requirement nearly 200 years ago.

Deputy Sue Aldwell has seconded the amendment. She is a former Torteval constable and was strongly against P&R’s original proposals, noting that the small number of Torteval ratepayers were already having to cover expensive work on the church, aside from expecting them to cover costs for a rectory they did not own. And she felt now was the right time to tackle the issue of parishes covering the cost of housing Church of England rectors.

‘We need to sort this out,’ she said.

‘This is the most pragmatic thing to do.’

At a meeting of all the parishes in early December, they were asked if they felt the Church of England should pay full rent for rectories.

Deputy Aldwell said eight parishes backed the proposal, with Vale abstaining, as the church owns its rectory. The only rejection came from Castel, which is currently selling its rectory and plans to build a new one.

Deputy Aldwell noted that taxes were an issue in the forefront of islanders’ minds.

‘This is one way we can take the responsibility from ratepayers,’ she said.

The Dean of Guernsey and both vice-deans were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Deputy Brouard said he had contacted the deanery office and he understood church officials were set to meet to discuss the proposals later this month.