I wish I knew more of the "background" behind this story. For instance, is this a "wealthy parish" or a village parish with villagers attending?
To me it sounds like a dispute or clash between the Vicar and the Choir Director..or members of the parish/choir that have a dispute with the choir director. The vicar either called the consultant in on his own or from pressure by some members of the parish.
Churches often have members who are huge donors and they feel entitled to run the church the way they see how it should be run and the rest of the congregation be damned. I'm sure the money for the consultant's fee came from the church's general fund, which is funded by donations/church collections.