Section 51 Ecclesiastical Property.C1

Without prejudice to the provisions of the M1Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 with respect to notices served under that Act, where under any of the provisions of this Act a notice is required to be served on an owner of land, and the land is ecclesiastical property, a like notice shall be served on the F1Diocesan Board of Finance for the diocese in which the land is situated.

F2Where any ecclesiastical property is vested in the incumbent of a benefice which is vacant it shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as being vested in the Diocesan Board of Finance for the diocese in which the land is situated.

Any sum which under section F3... 7, 9 or 46 of this Act is payable in relation to land which is ecclesiastical property and apart from this subsection would be payable to an incumbent, shall be paid to the Diocesan Board of Finance for the diocese in which the land is situated, to be applied for the purposes for which the proceeds of a sale by agreement of the land would be applicable under any enactment or Measure authorising, or disposing of the proceeds of, such a sale.

Where any sum is recoverable under section 8 of this Act in respect of land which is ecclesiastical property the Diocesan Board of Finance for the diocese in which the land is situated may apply any money or securities held by F4it in the payment of that sum.

In this section “ecclesiastical property” means land belonging to an ecclesiastical benefice of the Church of England, or being or forming part of a church subject to the jurisdiction of a bishop of any diocese of the Church of England or the site of such a church, or being or forming part of a burial ground subject to such jurisdiction.