We now come to 1949, having left page 10 in 1947. What has happened in 1948? It is instructive to read the following from the Parish Magazine dated May 1948. It is not surprising that thoughts of the new church site did not surface this year.

FROM THE RECTOR The Rector sent the following message, to be read by the Archdeacon at the Annual Meeting, and suggested its use in the Magazine I am very sorry that I am not able to preside personally over the Annual Meeting, and wish to express my appreciation of your kindness as Archdeacon in taking the chair. During the past year the Church in West Parley has been passing through difficult times, which nevertheless may eventually be for its good, due largely to the loyal and untiring efforts of Mr. Canning, Mr. Harrison, and others. A long interregnum is always a test of the spiritual vitality of a parish, and this parish has stood it well. Not only have the services been maintained, but great decisions have been made which will affect its future. With faith and courage it was decided to sell the old Vicarage, and to take steps to raise the income of the benefice. Both of these schemes have been successfully carried out, with the splendid backing of the Diocesan and other Church authorities. This is a great achievement which will benefit the present and future rectors of this parish. During the year Mr. Canning prepared a full and careful statement of the financial resources and expected expenditure, and by his efforts money was contributed which has done much to relieve the situation, and it is hoped that before long the Duplex Envelope system of Finance may be adopted with a view to increasing our regular income. Mr. Harrison has been an ideal Secretary of the P.C.C. He never spares himself, and his business ability has been entirely devoted to the service of the Church. Formal votes of thanks for such services would be inadequate, if not out of place, but as fellow-workers we express our appreciation of what they have done, and our joy in the success which has attended their efforts. Last October I was instituted and inducted as your rector with high hopes that I might be of some use in the service of the Church , but some of these hopes have unfortunately been frustrated by my illness, I am profoundly grateful not only for the welcome you gave me, but for the splendid response you have made from the beginning of my ministry. While I have been laid up my wife and I have been much touched and encouraged by many acts of kindness, and by the understanding sympathy of you all, which have helped us enormously. It has been a great joy to me to feel that the work of the Church in the parish was being carried on under the fine leadership of Mr. M. J. Whicker. To him we owe a great debt of gratitude. What the future has in store is of course uncertain, but no doubt that will be made clearer as time goes on. It will in any case be some time before I can resume my ministry, but meanwhile I know that you will all do your best to carry on with the work of the Church so that if may not suffer loss through my infirmity. God bless you in all that you do in His name and for His sake EDGAR V ROBINSON

Whilst the Parish of All Saints contends with its own problems the world around it is changing. In 1945 came the ending of the hostilities called World War II allowing more normal government to be established by the holding of a general election in that year. A Labour government was returned which set about changing the face of the United Kingdom in far reaching ways. The establishment of the National Health Service was one and in 1947 there was The Town and Country Planning Act.
There is reference in church documents in Colonel Drew's time to the haphazard manner in which the area is being allowed to develop; I can recall the discussions in my own family regarding this Act - was it a desirable setting of standards or an intrusion into freedoms. From the perspective of 2007 it could be said that it was the start of centralised control of our way of life so prevalent today. It is to the Town and County Planning Act that we must concern ourselves, or rather Mr Harrison who wrote the following on 29 April 1949

Dear Sir Parish of West Parley You will no doubt remember that a plot of Land facing New Road was conveyed to the P.C.C. in 1930 as a Site for a possible new Church I am taking Steps which appear necessary inconnection with the Town & Country PLanning Act, and have obtained Form CTL, and have filled it in to the best of my ability. I am sending it herewith and shall be very glad if you will kindly check it with the Deeds which I believe are in your Custody. I am also preparing Precautionary Claim on £300 Million Fund. Please accept thanks in anticipation of your kind assistance. Yours faithfully WWH Hon treas of P.C.C.

This above letter was sent to Mr Symonds who you may recall was a solicitor at Wilson and Sons, Salisbury.
Now to consider the letter in the context of this history, remembering that there is no evidence that the PCC was in the slightest concerned with the building of a new church, and Harrison's remarks in his letter 29 January 1946 (see page 10), it seems that the Parish was extremely fortunate to have Harrison as Treasurer at this time, as he obviously understood the significance of the Town & Country Planning Act and had sufficient initiative to take action to protect the interests of the Parish in the site in New Road. The reference to the £300 Million Fund is crucial. The Planning Act brought in controls and charges on the development of land with all development land being vested in the state; the £300 Fund was to compensate developers where land fell into this category. The church site would seem to fall within this category as it was intended that it be developed in the future. (If you wish a fuller explanation follow this link Wikipedia (opens new window)Town Country Planning Act). The purpose of Form CTL is not known.

Now a sense of 'been here before' sets in as Wilsons replied, on the 3 May 1949

Dear Sir, Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance, West Parley We are in receipt of your letter of the 29th ulto. addressed to our Mr. Symonds. We do not hold any deeds belonging to the Board of Finance, but we have made enquiries of the Board and find that the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance are the registered proprietors with Absolute Title of the property referred to by you. We think that the form which you sent us will require considerable amendment as the legal estate is vested in the Board of Finance and not in the Parochial Church Council. We shall be quite prepared to render what assistance we can in connection with your application, if you will undertake to be responsible for our professional charges, as we can hardly render an account to the Board of Finance in connection with this property of which they are holding as Trustees. If you wish us to take any steps in the matter can you let us have a fresh form C.T.L. (revised) or shall we alter the form which you sent us, which we regard as being incorrect in several particulars. It might be as well if you enquired of the Central Land Board as to whether the application should be made by the Board of Finance or the Parochial Church Council. We are inclinded to think that the Board of Finance should make the application. Yours faithfully, Wilson and Sons

Where have we seen that phrase "responsible for our charges" before? This time there is a happier outcome, no quibbling or fuss, at least as far as can be seen from the documents examined. On the 4 May 1949 Mr Harrison wrote to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning as follows :

Dear Sir, Benefice of West Parley, Dioc. Salisbury A short time ago I asked you for a Copy of Form C.T.L. (Revised) in connection with an Area of Land given to the Paroc Church Council for the erection of a New Church and parsonage. You kindly sent the Form and I filled it up on the Basis that the Paroc Ch Council were the Proprietors, and sent it to the Diocesan Office for their observations. It would appear that the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance are the registered Proprietors with an Abosolute Title of the Property in question. The Form C.T.L. will therefore require several amendments, and I shall be glad if you will let me have a fresh Form, and also confirm, if possible, that the Dioc Board of Finance are the proper persons to make the application. Many thanks in anticipation of your kind assistance. Yours faithfully W H Harrison Hon Treas of P.C.C.

The burden of paperwork must then have passed to Salisbury, either Wilsons of the Board of Finance (or both) as there is nothing of consequence until 1 July 1949 when .....

SALISBURY DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE Dear Sir, Town and Country Planning Act You will be glad to hear that the Ministry of Town and Country Planning has informed me that, in respect of the West Parley Church Site, "the Minister's firm decision will be either that Section 85 already applies or that a direction under Section 85(5) will be granted". In other words, the land is 'operational' and will not attract development charge. Yours faithfully W H Saumarez Smith, Secretary

What excellent news! For those of you that have not read up on the Act, this means that the Parish may use the land to build a church without further reference or payment to the Government. All they need do now is to get on and build the church. Hmmm....
Note that Saumarez Smith is still Secretary to the Board of Finance, people did not change jobs so much in those days.

This concludes a rather long page but then Government, paperwork, nothing changes. A direction under the Act was issued and if you want to see it click here, beware it is a big image file and will take some time if you are not on broadband (200Kb, opens in new window)

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