DELEGATED DECISION
FEBRUARY 26TH 2013
Wards Affected:
ALL
Community Right to Bid
Decision Taker: Cllr. Peter Geary, Cabinet Member for Communities, Corporate
Services and Transformation
Authors: Neil Hanley, Community Solutions Programme Manager Tel (01908) 253632
Paul Sanders, Assistant Director, Community Facilities Tel (01908) 253639
Executive Summary:
The Council is required (by the Localism Act) to maintain processes in place to
give people the chance to bid to buy and take over the running of private or public
assets that are of value to the local community. The Council is required to maintain
and manage lists of such assets in line with the statutory framework.
1. Recommendation(s):
1.1 That officers be instructed to publish details of the considered request and
decisions about each nominated asset to be submitted on the Council’s website
2. Issues
2.1 The Community Right to Bid (RtB) is part of the Localism Act (2011) and came
into force in September 2012. The Community right to bid aims to ensure
important assets remain in public use and stay part of community life and the
Council is required to maintain and manage lists of such assets in line with the
statutory framework. This report seeks to:
2.1.1
To provide a summary of the implications arising from the Localism Act
2011 (the Right to Bid (RtB)) to Cabinet.
2.2 This makes a distinction between Community Right to Challenge (RtC) where the
Council is required (by the Localism Act) to maintain processes in place to
consider expressions of interests from relevant bodies to provide services
currently delivered by the Council.
Summary of Implications
2.3 Under the Localism Act (2011) voluntary and community organisations and
parish councils can nominate an asset to be included on a list of ‘assets of
community value’. This list will be managed by the Council and must be
published. This is distinct from other community engagement processes such as
the Community Asset Transfer scheme.
DELEGATED DECISION
26th February 2013
PAGE 1
2.4 If the owner of a listed asset wants to sell the asset or grant a lease for 25 years
or more, a six month moratorium period will be triggered during which the asset
cannot be sold or so let (there are some exceptions in the Localism Act).
2.5 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.
2.6 The Council 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.
2.7 If the Council deems that the asset does have community value and is in their
local area, then it will add that asset to the ‘assets of community value’ list and
must decide and action within 8 weeks of receiving the application. If so listed
the Council must make entries in the local land charges register maintained by
the Council, and also at the Land Registry. If the nomination is unsuccessful the
Council must notify the nominee in writing and provide an explanation as to why
the nomination was unsuccessful. The Council must also notify the landowner,
the occupier, any tenant, the parish council and the community nominee of any
inclusion or removal of an asset to the list.
2.8 A landowner can ask the Council to review the inclusion of the asset from the
list and there will be a process for an appeal to an independent body. The
Council must also maintain and publish 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.
2.9 In summary:
a) A community group decides which asset it’s interested in buying. This could
be something that they’ve heard is going to be sold or closed down but that
they want to keep running.
b) The community group get ready to make a bid. For example, if they are not
an incorporated entity entitled to apply such as a parish council, community
interest group or neighbourhood forum but are a local group, they’d need to
make sure they have at least 21 members on the local electoral register.
c) The applicant asks the Council to ‘list’ the asset and submits a short
nomination explaining what the asset is, details about the group, why the
asset boosts the social well-being of the particular community and advising
the name and address of the owner.
d) The Council considers the request and decides whether to put the asset on
a list of local ‘assets of community value’, applying the criteria in the
Localism Act.
e) If the Council decides not to list it, it should say why. Notice the decision
(either way) needs to be given to the owner and the applicant and others,
DELEGATED DECISION
26th February 2013
PAGE 2
and must be published. The owner must be advised of its right to a review
under section 92 of the Localism Act, of a decision to list an asset.
f) If the owner decides to sell the asset and it’s been listed by the Council, the
Council will tell the group that it’s come up for sale, and must publish this
and amend the list. Once the group have been told the asset is being sold,
community interest groups have 6 weeks to tell the Council they want to bid
for it. This is called making an ‘expression of interest’. This must be added to
the list, along with the fact that it cannot be sold/let other than to a
community group within 6 months and that it can be sold to someone else
within a window of 12 months after the 6 month period ends – after that the
process must be repeated.
g) From the date the Council tells the community group the asset is being sold,
the group has six months to prepare and submit a bid to buy it and it can be
sold to the community group within the six month period. If the owner
decides to sell it to the community group, they then go through the process
of buying the asset from the current owner.
2.10 The consideration of what is include on the list must involve a proper decision
making process. The flowchart (at Annex A) identifies a decision to reject or
accept an asset onto the list in consultation with the appropriate services in Legal,
Property and Planning.
2.11 The owner of listed land can claim compensation for the effects of it being listed
and according to DCLG's guidance notes dated October 2012 at Section 10.7,
the Government will meet costs of compensation payments of over £20K in a
financial year, either on one large claim or as a combined total on a number of
smaller claims. So, for example, if the Council have 2 claims in one year of
£15,000 each, central government pays £10,000 and the Council pays £20,000.
3
Implications
3.1
Resources and Risk
The Community Right to Bid legislation will be implemented within existing
resources
3.2
N
Capital
Y
Revenue
N
Accommodation
N
IT
Y
Medium Term Plan
Y
Asset Management
Carbon and Energy Management
None
3.3
Legal
DELEGATED DECISION
26th February 2013
PAGE 3
Adoption of the approach should facilitate compliance with the relevant legislation
3.4
Other Implications
As set out within the report
N
Equalities/Diversity Y
Sustainability
Y
Human Rights
N
E-Government
Stakeholders
N
Crime and Disorder
Y
Background Papers:
Annex A – Flow Chart Decision Process Community Right To Bid
DELEGATED DECISION
26th February 2013
PAGE 4