Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011

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.