Church appeals over ban on street preaching

An evangelical church is appealing against an order preventing "intimidating behaviour" during street preaching after members allegedly told people they were going to hell.

The Bread of Life Community Church in Colchester was issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) in March, and breaching the order is a criminal offence.

The CPN also bans the church from using loudspeakers when addressing shoppers.

The order represented the "first attempt by a local authority to control the speech" of a group, lawyers for the church told Colchester Magistrates' Court on Friday. Further appeal hearings will take place later this year.

The CPN was issued by the Safer Colchester Partnership, which is run by Colchester City Council.

Pastor Stephen Clayden, who establishes and oversees all outreach activity, strongly denies that he or any member of his team has acted unlawfully, according to the campaign group Christian Concern.

Michael Phillips, for appellants Bread of Life Community Church, told the court that the CPN "imposed a number of requirements".

He said these included "to stop using amplification or loudspeakers" and to "stop intimidating behaviour".

"This was preaching which took place in public, as it has done for millennia," he said.

"You may not like what's been said, but there's free speech in this country."

He added that "it seems, unfortunately, that the council took a view on this matter without engaging with the local interested parties".

"There was simply the imposition of this notice which, if you breach the notice, it's a criminal offence," said Phillips.

Laura Austin, for respondents Colchester City Council, told the court: "This wasn't an attempt by a state body to censure a local religious group.

"There's no bar on this group or any group preaching in a manner which expresses lawful religious grievance."

She said a "vulnerable man" who was being assisted by his carer had "found the noise of the amplification too loud".

She said the man "put his hands over his ears and was told as he had put his hands over his ears he was going to hell".

She said there had also been allegations of "homophobic comments and chants to members of the public" and there had been unsuccessful attempts to engage with the church group.

The appeal is due to be heard over two days - at Southend Magistrates' Court on 22 October and at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on 29 October.

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