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BPF questions ‘confused’ Community Right to Buy proposals

The Government’s Community Right to Buy scheme will do little to save local services such as post offices and pubs from closure and could be hijacked to stifle development and economic growth, says the British Property Federation (BPF).

The scheme, first set out in the Localism Bill, will give local communities a chance to bid to take over assets that are important to them. Community groups would be able to nominate an asset to be listed with the local authority, and would then have a window of opportunity to organise a bid if the asset was to be sold.

However, detail in the consultation document reveals communities will only be able to list the building and not the service that operates from within it. For example, a post office is a contractual service and while the community may be able to bid for the building, this would not guarantee the continuation of the service.

Responding to the close of the Government consultation on the proposals today, Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “It is misleading of Government to portray the Community Right to Buy scheme as a mechanism for local communities to keep services open.

“If, for example, a local pub faces closure and the community manage to purchase it they would take ownership of the building and not the service. They would have to take on and organise this for themselves.

“As other provisions in the Localism Bill allow services run by local authorities to be taken over by communities using the Community Right to Challenge, you do have to question what the Community Right to Buy scheme brings to the table.”

There are also fears the Community Right to Buy scheme may be used to stifle development and economic growth with vexatious nominations to the local authority. Given the financial impact and inconvenience to property owners that could result the BPF is calling on the Government to put in place a series of safeguards that communities must satisfy in order to successfully list a property with the local authority.

Liz Peace said: “Any community group wishing to purchase a community asset should have to prove their ability to raise the money for the purchase. Including this measure will help reduce incidence of vexatious applications and go some way towards providing peace of mind for property owners affected.”

Contact the BPF on 020 7828 0111

Patrick Clift, Media and Public Affairs Manager, on 07834 439 505 or at pclift@bpf.org.uk

Paul Sweeney, Media Officer, on 07841 732 194 or at psweeney@bpf.org.uk

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BPF response to Proposals to introduce a Community Right to Buy – Assets of Community Value

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