Empowering communities: making the most of local assets – A councillors' guide

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In communities across the country we know that local people are concerned about losing locally-valued assets and associated services – from inner-city community centres to village pubs and post offices.

Through the Localism Act 2011, Government has moved to introduce a new ‘Community Right-to-bid' to empower communities to respond to these challenges by taking even greater control of land and buildings where they live.

Councillors as leaders within their communities play a central role in helping to broker these discussions, bringing together their council, other statutory authorities, local voluntary and community groups, local businesses and other private landowners to build a constructive partnership.

Through this partnership everyone can contribute to:

  • mapping assets in their local area to identify land and building valued by communities
  • building a shared understanding of the community's needs, ambitions and capacities
  • reducing wasteful conflict by increasing transparency and appreciating the pressures that public bodies may face to reduce operational costs and generate finance from the disposal of surplus assets
  • considering together how assets might be developed in a way that could be sustainable in either public or community hands
  • stimulating creative ideas about where services are based and how they are delivered.
Published by:
© Local Government Association, March 2012
Reference code:
L12-159