The Community Right to Bid has now come into force as part of the Localism Act. This right provides community group with the opportunity to ask the Council to list assets as being of ‘communuity Value’. The right aims to keep valued land and buildings in community use by giving local groups the opportunity to take control of the assets that are important to them.
Local authorities have to maintain a list of assets of community value which local community groups have nominated. Assets can be buildings or land that is either owned by public agencies or privately owned. They must further the social wellbeing or social interest of communities, which can be cultural, recreational and / or sporting. When listed assets come up for sale, the act gives community groups six months to develop a bid, raise the money and compete to buy the asset. The owner of the asset does however have the right to sell to whomever they chose to. Hopefully this will help communities keep much loved sites in public use and part of local life.
You could nominate your local pub, a public open space, a community centre, football pitch, a town hall, a library or a post office. Let’s take this opportunity to list all the fantastic community assets we have in the Dudley borough and celebrate how we use these assets to build relationships with each others and how we strenghen communities by communicating, interacting and socialising with other people so that our communities have a sense of belonging.
Help to prepare for using the Right to Bid
There are various organisations that can help community groups manage community facilities and can help with all your needs in preparing for the right to bid.