Planners have All Saints Church Of England Church's application for a certificate of lawfulness for the CCTV cameras, which was made by Reverend Anthony Searle.
Officers said a couple of technical points prevented the council issuing the certificate and that the church would therefore need to apply for planning permission – a more stringent form of planning consent.
In a decision notice, officers said the new cameras could not be classed as ‘permitted development’ because the church was a Grade I listed building and some of the proposed cameras would be within 10m of each other.
The High Wycombe church’s application form read: “We have been granted faculty. The CCTV is to hopefully reduce the antisocial behaviour in the churchyard: drug taking and dealing; sexual activity; fighting.”
The cameras were proposed to be fixed either side of the far southeastern corner of the building, overlooking the churchyard, path and some graves.