Online Faculty System switches over to the new Building Management Portal

The new Building Management Portal is the replacement for the existing Online Faculty System. This is the Church of England’s national digital system for managing all applications relating to works on churches, their contents, and churchyards. 

The new Building Management Portal (BMP)

The new portal has been designed to make the application process easier to follow and to improve consistency in the way casework is managed. It will give users clear information about application stages, supporting documents and the actions needed as an application progresses.

Dates

Existing public notices will therefore continue to be visible on the public notices page of OFS throughout the transition period. Access to OFS will be suspended from 5pm on 30 September whilst data is migrated. During this period, you will be able to view existing and historic applications, but will not be able to make any changes to them. OFS will remain available in read-only capacity until 6 October. From 6 October, all users, both new and existing, will have to register for the new Building Management Portal. To summarise:

• 30 September: access to OFS will be suspended
• From 6 October: the Building Management Portal will be available nationally, subject to successful validation.
• Up to 14 October: initial stabilisation period for investigating and correcting any migration or early-use issues.

Registration 

Access to the Building Management Portal will be publicised on 7 October. 

All users will need to complete a one-time registration process whether or not you are existing users of OFS. This will ensure that you are given the correct access for your role, church, and diocese.

Please only register for the new system once you need to apply for a case for your church or churches or if you are working on an existing application.

Existing cases and public notices

All existing and historic Online Faculty System cases will be migrated into the new portal.  Public notices for migrated cases will be available through the Building Management Portal.

Due to this data migration, OFS will be closed except for viewing existing applications from 30 September. Please ensure that all essential changes and case progression are completed before 5pm on 30 September.

Support and contact details from the DAC Secretary

There are training videos, along with other guidance and FAQs, below. The following two videos are an introduction to the new portal and a guide to registration:

• Introduction to BMP
• Registration and account management

If you have any questions, please email: Chris.Elders@cofeguildford.org.uk, DAC & Pastoral Secretary, stating your role and parish.