Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
'Community Right to Buy' scheme unveiled by Conservatives
The Conservatives say a Tory Government would give local residents powers to protect community assets from closure and allow them to take over the running of public buildings.
Under the Conservative proposals:
* Community groups, such as schools, churches or voluntary groups, will be able to bid to take over the running of publicly owned community assets, if they can manage the facility more efficiently and effectively than the state.
* When a state-owned community asset faces closure or being sold, voluntary groups will have a right of first refusal to bid and buy that asset for a fair price and maintain it for community use.
* The rights to community ownership will extend across assets owned by central government and quangos, not just town halls.
* The ‘Community Right to Buy’ will also allow community group first refusal to take over and run commercially-owned community assets that are closing
Source: LGC
Under the Conservative proposals:
* Community groups, such as schools, churches or voluntary groups, will be able to bid to take over the running of publicly owned community assets, if they can manage the facility more efficiently and effectively than the state.
* When a state-owned community asset faces closure or being sold, voluntary groups will have a right of first refusal to bid and buy that asset for a fair price and maintain it for community use.
* The rights to community ownership will extend across assets owned by central government and quangos, not just town halls.
* The ‘Community Right to Buy’ will also allow community group first refusal to take over and run commercially-owned community assets that are closing
Source: LGC
Tags for Forum Posts: community assets
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Liz, I heard Cameron on this the other night. So all we need to do is set up The HOL Consortium, vote in the Tories and use the Community Right to Buy to take over former Nationwide as a Credit Union and former St Augustine's of Canterbury as a Broad Church Community Centre. No change of use, and even N might not find it offensive to his principles.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Or a drop-in centre offering 12-step help for gamblers and other addicts ?
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Ah, that would be catered for in the BCCC - but we might have to baptise them first.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Across the country I'm aware of examples where inspiring community and not-for-profit groups have taken over buildings and successfully run and protected them as community facilities. But there are also examples where this has been no more than asset-stripping of public land and property in the interests of individuals and small groups. Not everyone who describes themselves as 'the community' has the public interest at heart.
How much of a safeguard is "a fair price? Does that mean a market price? Or simply what the "community" group are able to raise? How far does a "a right of first refusal" actually mean a cosy arrangement to sell to a chosen group?
Even where things begin well, and well-intentioned community-minded people run amazing facilities, there are still questions about the future. Running a building is hard work. It's the type of thankless, invisible grind which is often taken for granted. Genuinely voluntary associations are organic. They can grow and flourish. But also fall away as key individuals get tired; or move on to other interests; or perhaps move away. But the day-to-day, month-to-month work on a building is endless.
Buildings need maintenance and repair. They gobble-up money - which has to come from somewhere. Costs are very much higher if an attractive old building is 'Listed'; or needs a retrofit to new 'green' standards .
I also wonder how far Cameron's ideas are similar to those in Making Assets Work - the Quirk Review.
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