Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011

Changes in benefices, parishes, extra-parochial places, archdeaconries and deaneries

31 Creation, alteration or dissolution of benefices, parishes and extra-parochial places

(1) A pastoral scheme may provide for any of the following matters—

(a) for the creation, whether by union or otherwise, of new benefices or parishes;

(b) for the dissolution of existing benefices or parishes;

(c) for the alteration of the areas of existing benefices or parishes (including the transfer of a parish from one benefice to another) or the definition of their boundaries;

(d) for the creation of new extra-parochial places, the incorporation in parishes of existing extra-parochial places, or the alteration or definition of the boundaries of existing extra-parochial places.

(2) A pastoral scheme shall name every new benefice and new parish created by the scheme, and may alter the name of any benefice or parish.

(3) A pastoral scheme providing for the union of two or more benefices may provide for uniting all the parishes within a new benefice, or for uniting some but not all those parishes, or may leave them as separate parishes.

(4) A pastoral scheme may provide for the creation of a new parish with full parochial status, notwithstanding that the parish so created will have no parish church when the provision comes into operation.

(5) A pastoral scheme may also authorise the making of sharing agreements on behalf of the Church of England in respect of a church or parsonage house which under the agreement will be in the joint ownership of that Church and any other Church.

(6) A pastoral scheme authorising the making of any sharing agreement shall specify the church or parsonage house to which it relates, and may specify terms and conditions subject to which the authorisation is given.

32 Holding of benefices in plurality

(1) A pastoral scheme may provide for the holding in plurality of any two or more benefices subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the scheme.

(2) The provisions of a pastoral scheme for the holding of benefices in plurality shall, unless the scheme otherwise provides, continue in force notwithstanding the occurrence of any vacancy:

Provided that, when the bishop gives notice of any vacancy or impending vacancy under section 7 of the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 (1986 No. 3) those provisions may be terminated either by the bishop or by one of the interested parochial church councils, as follows:

(a) the bishop may state in the notice that the provisions are to be terminated and shall in that case serve the notice on all the persons who are or, on the termination, become the patrons of the benefices concerned and on the Commissioners and the said provisions shall cease to have effect on the vacancy or the service of the notice, whichever is the later; or

(b) any interested parochial church council may, within 28 days after the service of the notice, pass a resolution that the provisions are to be terminated, and shall forthwith notify the bishop of the resolution, and the bishop shall notify the other interested parochial church councils, the Commissioners and all the persons who are or, on the termination, become, the patrons of the benefices concerned, and the provisions shall cease to have effect on the vacancy or the service of the notice, whichever is the later, and the bishop shall serve a fresh notice under section 7 of that Measure on all the councils and patrons concerned, which shall have effect in substitution for the previous notice.

(3) The termination of the provisions under subsection (2) shall be without prejudice to any provisions relating to the future exercise of the rights of patronage of the benefices concerned in the event of a renewal of the plurality.

(4) Except with the leave of the bishop, an incumbent of two or more benefices held in plurality may not resign any of those benefices without resigning the other or others; and, if leave is granted for the resignation and there are at least two other benefices, the resignation shall not affect the holding in plurality of those other benefices, but the Commissioners may by instrument make such consequential amendments of the pastoral scheme which provided for the holding of the benefices in plurality as they think necessary.

33 Archdeaconries and deaneries

A pastoral scheme—

(a) may provide for creating, altering or dissolving an archdeaconry or deanery, and shall name any new archdeaconry or deanery created by the scheme;

(b) shall, where necessary, designate the archdeaconry or deanery to which any parish created or altered by the scheme is to belong;

(c) may alter the name of any archdeaconry or deanery.