The Church Commissioners of the Church of England are consulting the House of Bishops on a new set of principles and guidelines to provide suitable houses from which bishops can conduct an effective ministry, while providing both a place of work and family privacy. Recommendations from the Strategic See House Review also include drawing up management plans for each see house covering not only planned maintenance but also development and income-generating possibilities. Wider consultation will follow. Once the consultation process is completed, including a take note debate in the General Synod, the see houses will be reviewed on a case-by case basis. The process will take several years to complete.

Following the 2001 report Resourcing Bishops, the Commissioners are reviewing the criteria for bishops’ living and working accommodation, as well as continuing the regular review of individual houses in place since they were transferred to the Commissioners after the Second World War. The transfer of ownership, starting in 1948, involved the replacement of 19 see houses, as well as extensive work to bring the remainder up to the standard of the day. Since then, a further nine houses have been replaced and substantial investment made in bringing bishops' accommodation up to the standard. The Bristol see house has recently been sold and the Wakefield see house is due for replacement.

Recommendations in the report of the Strategic See House Review include:

• The aim of the new principles and guidelines is to provide a suitable house from which the bishop can conduct his ministry effectively, while being at the same time a place of work and a home which offers his family privacy;
• Investment criteria will be a factor and each house will be assessed to determine its development and income potential;
• A management plan will be produced for each house to implement a planned maintenance regime and deal with development and income-generating opportunities;
• The management plans will be produced in consultation with the bishop and his family;
• This might mean that houses which are too expensive to maintain will be replaced;
• The future of each house will be reviewed when the bishop is 62 - to allow time for its replacement if necessary. A house might also be replaced while a bishop is in situ either because it has already been agreed, or because a bishop and family agree it is right to move. There will be no change without consultation with the bishop.
• This case by case approach will mean that the review will be done gradually and not rushed;
• Heritage houses will also have management plans and these will take account, where appropriate, of the income generation possibility offered by the house.

The full report is available at: www.cofe.anglican.org/commissioners/articles/seehsereview.doc