Community Rights

The Localism Act has created new rights to give local people and groups a greater say about what happens to local buildings and land and also how local services are delivered:

Community Right to Challenge – gives community and voluntary sector organisations, charities, parish councils and groups of council staff the right to ‘challenge’ local authorities by putting forward an Expression of Interest in running their services. A successful challenge would result in a competitive procurement exercise in which the challenger would be able to take part along with other interested organisations.

Right to Bid for Community Assets – parish councils and local voluntary and community organisations will be able to nominate local land or buildings to be included in lists of community assets maintained by local authorities. In the event of a proposed sale, a process will be triggered that allows a community interest group to express an interest in bidding to purchase the property.

Useful links:

• Localism Act
• Social Investment Business