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Community Right to Bid

The Localism Act is intended to devolve power from central government to individuals, communities and local councils. One of the key provisions in the Act is the Community Right to Bid (Assets of Community Value), which was formerly known as the Right to Buy. The Right to Bid will come into being in April 2012.

Community Right to Bid

In neighbourhoods across the country there are buildings and amenities that are lifelines to the communities that use them – a village shop, a pub, the post office, a community centre or a library, for example. The closure or sale of these places can create lasting damage to communities.

The Community Right to Bid aims to ensure important assets remain in public use and stay part of community life. Voluntary and community organisations and parish councils can nominate an asset to be included on a ‘list of assets of community value’ which the local authority is required to maintain.

If the owner of a listed asset then wants to sell the asset, a six month moratorium period will be triggered during which the asset cannot be sold. This period gives community groups some time to develop a proposal and raise the required capital to bid for the property when it comes onto the open market at the end of the moratorium period.

What counts as an ‘asset of community value’?

A building or piece of land will be deemed to have community value if:

  • the use of the land or building currently, or in the recent past, furthers the social well-being or cultural, recreational or sporting interests of the local community
  • this use (as described above) of the building will continue to further the social well-being or interests of the local community
  • The use of the land or building to further social well-being or interests of the community must be its principle use, not a secondary or ancillary one.

      How to get an asset on the list

      The local authority will determine the format of the list, any modifications made to any of the entries on the list and any removal of an entry from the list.

      • a community nomination must come from a parish council, a community council or a locally connected voluntary or community body. The nomination has to be made for land or buildings in the nominee’s local area
      • if the local authority deems that the asset does have community value, and it is in their local area, than it will add that asset to the ‘assets of community value’ list
      • if the nomination is unsuccessful the local authority must notify the nominee in writing and provide an explanation as to why the nomination was unsuccessful
      • the local authority must notify the landowner, the occupier and the community nominee of any inclusion or removal of an asset to the list
      • a landowner can ask the local authority to review the inclusion of the asset from the list and there will be a process for an appeal to an independent body
      • the local authority must also maintain a list of ‘land nominated by an unsuccessful community nomination’
      • if land is included in the list of assets of community value it will remain on that list for five years.

      Useful resources:

      If you are considering taking over a local asset from a local authority, the ATU website contains a wealth of information, and if you have specific questions that aren’t answered here, please contact us.

      Or if you’re interested in managing your library as a community, the Community Knowledge Hub (keep the hyperlink) network can provide advice and guidance.

      Localities Guide to Community Rights and the Localism Act (as a hyperlink please, either to the Locality page http://locality.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Community-Rights-and-the-Localism-Act.pdf or upload that page onto the ATU site and link to it there)

      The Plain English Guide to the Localism Act (this is the DCLG site, so the title as a hyperlink please http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localismplainenglishupdate )

      The Five Key Measures in the Localism Act (again, hyperlink to DCLG http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/decentralisation/localismbill/keymeasures/ )

      Download the Localism Act (hyperlinked to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/20/contents/enacted/data.htm )