How to Save a Building for your Community

There has been a shift of power from central government to the local community in relation to ownership and management of community assets, leading ultimately to the Localism Act.

Many small communities are dependent upon local facilities such as pubs and libraries, village shops and community centres. With increasingly poor public transport links, particularly in rural areas, these assets can be of vital importance to some of the most vulnerable in society. 

Under the Localism Act, every Local Authority must maintain a list of these community assets, which have been nominated by the local community. This list should be available for anyone to see.

If a registered asset is threatened with closure, sale or re-development it is possible for a community group to acquire ownership, to manage and run the community asset. The community group can be given time to raise a bid to purchase the asset. These bids require careful planning.

Samuels can assist community groups with this process, from dealing with the registration procedure, objections to planning applications for development, business planning and bid preparation. 

If you are concerned about a proposed development or if you would want to protect a community asset by registration, contact us for a free, no obligation discussion about how we can help. The sooner the correct procedures are started, the more chance you have of success.