The community right to bid allows communities a chance to save buildings or places that are important to them
What is the community right to bid?
The Community Right to Bid means communities can ask us to list certain assets as being of value to the community. If an asset is listed and then comes up for sale, the new right will give communities that want it six months to put together a bid to buy it.
This gives communities the opportunity to save much loved shops, pubs or other local facilities.
Parish councils or local community groups can nominate both privately and publicly owned assets which meet the definition of community value.
Definition of an asset of community value
A building or land in a local authority's area will be listed as an asset of community value if:
- the use of the building/land (now and/or in the past) furthers the social well-being or social interests (cultural, recreational, or sporting interests) of the local community
- it is realistic to think that now or within five years there could continue to be primary use of the building/land to further the social well-being or social interests of the local community (whether or not in the same way as before)
Disposal of listed assets
Owners of listed assets cannot dispose of them without:
- letting us know that they intend to sell the asset or grant a lease of more than 25 years
- waiting until the end of a six week 'interim moratorium' period if we do not receive a request from a community interest group to be treated as a potential bidder
- waiting until the end of a six month 'full moratorium' period if we receive a request from a community interest group to be treated as a potential bidder
The owner does not have to sell the asset to the community group.
There is also a 'protected period' (18 months from the time that the owner notified us of their intention to dispose of the asset) - during this time there can be no further moratoriums.
You can find out more about the disposal process on our assets of community value policy.
The Blue Bell Public House
Asset name: The Blue Bell Public House
Address: The Blue Bell, Lynn Road, Stoke Ferry King’s Lynn PE33 9SW
Asset reference: 012687
The owner of The Blue Bell (as per their obligation under the Localism Act 2011, Part five, Chapter three, section 95) has notified us of their intention to dispose of this asset. Local community interest groups now have a period of six weeks to submit an expression of interest to bid for this asset. Once a group has submitted an expression of interest, we will inform the owner in writing that such group should be seen as a potential bidder. The community interest group then has the six months full moratorium period starting from the date when we acknowledged the owners notice of disposal to prepare and submit a bid to the owner.
If no expressions of interest are received during the six week period (by 8 March 2021) we'll notify the owner that they are free to dispose of the asset at any time during the 18 months protection period
The process
The Regulations, Explanatory Note and Guidance Note documents can be found at the bottom of this page. They are published by the government, and provide detailed information on:
- the bodies that can make nominations (such as local parish councils)
- land that is exempt from being listed (such as premises which are primarily residential)
- the steps that we have to take when considering to list land as an asset of community value and upon listing that land (including notifying relevant parties)
- arrangements for owners to make appeals on decisions to list or award compensation on any losses incurred as a result of being listed (including internal reviews and external tribunals)
- exemptions to the six month moratorium being applied when land is put up for sale or long term lease
A decision will be made within eight weeks of the receipt of nomination on whether to list the asset. The asset will then be placed on a list of successful or unsuccessful nominations. You can view our list of Assets of Community Value and unsuccessful nominations at the bottom of this page.
Who to contact
Please complete our nomination form to list an asset as being of community value. There is also a guide to filling in this form, which can be found at the bottom of this page.
For general advice or enquiries please contact legal@west-norfolk.gov.uk.
Support available and other considerations
Support on the use of this right is available from an organisation called Locality.
Where the owner of a listed asset, such as a pub, applies for 'change of use' then the fact the asset is listed as an asset of community value may be a material consideration in making a decision on whether to grant change of use.
In addition, Neighbourhood Plans can formally allocate assets for community use in a site allocation proposals map, if there is good evidence to support the case (including for sites which may not meet the definition of an asset of community value).
This would give it additional weight in decision making and could inform, and be informed by, the lists of nominated assets.
West Norfolk's Local Plan seeks to promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities in villages, such as:
- local shops
- meeting places
- sports venues
- cultural buildings
- public houses
- places of worship
We will take into account the importance of these facilities to the local community when considering planning applications.