Don't lose your community's building or space -nominate an Asset of Community Value (ACV)
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Nominate places and spaces in your community that are important to local people as Assets of Community Value and if they come up for sale, your community has the opportunity to bid for them.
Nominate libraries, community centres, pubs, shops or green spaces that are of value to your community, by registering them as Assets of Community Value with your local authority.
You can then use the Community Right to Bid if this asset ever comes up for sale – the community can have up to six months to raise the funds to bid for it. At the end of the period, the owner may sell it to whoever and at whatever price they choose.
Nominating an Asset of Community Value
Assets of Community Value (ACVs) can only be nominated if they are of interest socially (such as for sport, culture or recreational uses) or increase the wellbeing of the community now and into the future.
A community group (such as a society, parish council, neighbourhood forum, not for profit organisation or a group of at least 21 individuals) that is locally connected to the area can nominate an asset to the local authority.
Community Right to Bid
Listed Assets of Community Value stay on your local authority’s list for up to five years.
Pubs that are listed as ACVs require a planning application to change their use or demolish them (the same protection applies pending a decision from the point when the pub is nominated for ACV status). If the pub is listed as an ACV, these requirements will be effective for the duration of the listing..
During this period, if the owner of the listed asset decides to sell they must inform the local authority of their intention to do so. The community then have up to six weeks to express an interest in becoming potential bidders to buy the asset.
Once an expression of interest has been received, a further four and a half month pause in the sale process is triggered. This gives potential bidders a total of six months to raise the funds required to purchase the asset. At the end of the period, the owner may sell it to whoever and at whatever price they choose.
Our step-by-step guide takes you through the process from nominating Assets of Community Value to bidding for them with the Community Right to Bid.
Need support to bid on an asset of community value or want to find out more?
If you’re planning to bid on a community asset, or want to find out more about the process you can register your interest by sending an email to info@locality.org.uk with ‘Asset of Community Value’ in the subject line.
To support our campaigning work (creating a better operating environment for community organisations), we would also like to hear the experiences of community groups in using the Right to Bid process.
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