The Church of England’s Dioceses Commission has just published its draft report on the future of the Yorkshire Dioceses.

It proposes dissolving the three dioceses of Wakefield, Bradford, and Leeds and Ripon in order to create one new large Diocese of Wakefield with Wakefield Cathedral as its principal cathedral.

Within this new diocese, there would be five new episcopal areas of Wakefield, Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds and Ripon. Each would have its own area bishop and area council and the report notes: “The area bishops would be, as many have requested, closer in every sense to their clergy and people than it has been possible for the diocesan bishops to be.”

It also recommends that the new diocese would retain all three existing cathedrals, with Wakefield Cathedral as the diocesan see. Bradford Cathedral would remain as a focus of the Church’s ministry in that city and Ripon Cathedral would provide a focus for the Yorkshire Dales.

It recommends the diocesan office should be located in Leeds and overall the new diocese would have the same number of bishops as the current three dioceses but one fewer archdeacon.

The report comes following a year of consultation and research and is open to comment from anyone. Each diocese has until 9 May 2010 to formulate its response and there will be a series of discussions held at deanery and diocesan level here in Wakefield over the coming months.

There will be further revisions and consultations and no scheme is expected to be introduced until 2013 at the earliest. To read the report in full go to: www.diocom.org/yorkshire/report