Plea for ruling on repairs at Shropshire parish church
A campaigner who fought against an archaic law which could have forced her to pay for repairs to her parish church has called for a U-turn to be put in writing.
St Mary's Church, in Stottesdon, near Bridgnorth, had originally registered its right to make residents pay for repairs to its chancel.
Residents received a letter from the Land Registry earlier this year stating the church could make them fork out for the upkeep of the building under the chancel repair liability law, passed by King Henry VIII.
The parochial church council has since asked charity regulator the Charity Commission to remove its registration after a public outcry in the village.
But about 21 landowners in the village could still be caught out by the legislation, which states they are legally obliged to fund repair costs at the church, if the PCC happened to change its mind.
Resident Elaine Hession, who was angered by the Land Registry letter in February, said the church's decision was a step in the right direction.
But she has called on the PCC to put something in writing stating the residents would never be pursued for repairs.
"Only then will we be able to draw a line under this very stressful matter," she said. "The church could re-register its claim with the Land Registry and then we are back to the same position where our property is devalued and unsaleable."
The motion passed by the PCC states: "Following careful review and consideration of all material facts the PCC now wishes to withdraw the unilateral notices and the cautions against first registrations lodged with The Land Registry."
South Shropshire MP Phillip Dunne has also welcomed the church's rethink, branding the original claim a "perverse way" to get people to pay repair costs.
He said: "At one of my recent advice surgeries I received a large delegation of many owners of property in Stottesdon parish, who had been served with a notice of liability by their Parochial Church Council.
"I appreciate that church buildings require upkeep and this is a considerable drain on resources of churches, in particular the Church of England in Shropshire, but relying on ancient tithes little understood and, I suspect, long since abandoned in practice, seems a perverse way to seek to encourage local communities to help raise running and repair costs.
"This issue was causing considerable anxiety for local homeowners, so I welcome this step from the Parochial Parish Council."
