Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969

3 Financial and management provisions.E+W

(1)A sharing agreement shall make provision with respect to the financial and other obligations of the parties thereto in respect of the provision, improvement and management of the church building or buildings shared or to be shared under the agreement, and the powers of any body or person under any statutory or other legal provision to apply money, whether by grant or loan, in respect of the provision, improvement or management of church buildings of a Church to which this Act applies shall be applicable in like manner in respect of any church building shared or to be shared by that Church under a sharing agreement.

(2)The powers of any body or person under any statutory or other legal provision—

(a)to acquire, hold, improve or manage church buildings of a Church to which this Act applies, or any property to be used for or in connection with the provision of such church buildings, or

(b)to grant property for or in connection with the provision of such church buildings, whether for a full consideration or for less than a full consideration,

shall be applicable in like manner in respect of any church building to which a sharing agreement relates and which, under the agreement, is or is to be owned by that Church or jointly owned by that Church and any other Church or Churches, and any such power to hold church buildings shall include a power to be a trustee (representing that Church) of such a jointly owned church building or, in the case of a corporation aggregate, to be the custodian trustee thereof.

(3)The powers of the Church Commissioners under the M1New Housing Areas (Church Buildings) Measure 1954, and the powers of F1... certain other bodies and persons under [F2sections 28 and 29 of the Church Property Measure 2018] (which relate to the provision and improvement of church buildings), shall not be applicable for the purposes mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this section except as may be provided by a Measure of the [F3General Synod] extending the said Measures.

(4)The responsibility for the management of a church building owned by one only of the sharing Churches under a sharing agreement and of its contents shall remain with the authorities of or trustees representing that Church, but that responsibility shall be discharged in accordance with the provisions of the agreement and any arrangements made thereunder, including provisions or arrangements for consultation with any other sharing Church and for the payment of contributions by any other sharing Church towards the expenses of management.

(5)Where a sharing agreement provides for the joint ownership of the shared building by all or some of the sharing Churches, the responsibility of the trustees for the management of the building shall be in place of any responsibility of the authorities of the sharing Churches as respects that building, including responsibility under any statutory or other legal provision:

(a)the trustees shall discharge that responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the sharing agreement and any arrangements made thereunder, including provisions or arrangements for consultation with any sharing Church which is not a joint owner and for the payment of contributions by the sharing Churches towards the expenses of management;

(b)the agreement may provide that any moveables required for the worship of any sharing Church shall be the responsibility of the authorities of that Church.

(6)In this section “management”, in relation to a church building, includes the repair and furnishing of the building.