Sheila Battersby- Policy Manager (NW) Office for Civil Society

Community Rights and Neighbourhood Planning

July 2012

New Rights for Communities

• Community Right to Challenge

• Community Right to Bid

• Community Right to Build

• Neighbourhood Planning

UNCLASSIFIED

Community Right to Challenge

A right for voluntary and community bodies, charities parish councils and relevant authority employees, to express an interest in running relevant authority services, where they believe they can do so differently and better.

If the expression of interest is accepted, the authority must carry out a procurement exercise for the service.

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Community Right to ChallengeCurrent Position

• Regulations have been laid and scrutinised in Parliament. The Right came into force on 27 June 2012

• Statutory guidance has been published

• Locality will provide a programme of support for groups to help them to effectively use the Right, compete in procurement exercises and deliver service contracts sustainably.

• Locality will offer guides and toolkits, an advice and information service, and pre-feasibility, feasibility and service delivery grants

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Bulky Bob’s

Reuses and recycles 70% of furniture and white goods - reduce impact on the environment, saving councils £££ in landfill costs.

Helped over 34,000 low-income families access affordable furniture

Has run training programmes for more than 250 long-term unemployed. Since 2000, 80% of trainees have gone into sustainable employment

Social benefits to the local community 2.5 times the initial investment

A Social enterprise that has contracts with Liverpool City Council and other councils to collect, reuse and recycle bulky household waste. Offers not only efficient waste collection service, but also social, economic and environmental benefits …

Bulky Bob’s

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How will the Right work?

Relevant services

subject to challenge

Voluntary or Community

Group

Charity

Parish Council

Relevant Authority

Staff

Expression of

Interest

Relevant A

uthority

Accept

Accept with modification

Reject

Relevant authority

undertakes procurement

exercise in line with legal

requirements

No procurement triggered; relevant authority publishes reason for rejection

1 2 3

Time during which expressions of interest,

can be submitted Time for authorities to reach a decision on

expressions of interest

Time between accepting expressions of interest

and starting a procurement exerciseUNCLASSIFIED

Community Right to BidCurrent Position

• The Assets of Community Value Regulations will be introduced later this year. An announcement will be made shortly.

• A non-statutory Advice Note is being prepared for local authorities to help them prepare for commencement of the scheme.

• A support package will be available on commencement of the scheme to assist groups in using these rights.

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Community Right to Bid

Who can nominate?

• Voluntary and community organisations with a local connection• Parish Councils

Procedure for Listing

• Local authorities are required to publish and maintain a list of assets of community value and a list of unsuccessful nominations and to notify the owner(s), occupier(s) and nominator(s) of changes to the lists.

Review of a Listing Decision and Right of Appeal

• Owner will have a right to request an internal review of a local authority’s decision to list an asset and a further right of appeal if dissatisfied with the outcome of the review.

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Community Right to Bid The Windows of Opportunity

Moratorium periods

• An interim window of 6 weeks• A full window of 6 months (in total)• A protected period of 18 months (in total)

Relevant Disposal

• Is the sale of the freehold or assignment of a lease granted for 25 years or more with 100% vacant possession

• Does not fall within one of the exemptions• Owner’s notification to the local authority of intention to sell

triggers the interim window

The full window of opportunity can only be triggered by:

• A parish council• A community interest group

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Community Right to Bid What the provisions do NOT do

The Asset of Community Value provisionsdo NOT…

• Restrict who the owner of a listed asset sells to

• Restrict the price the owner sells at

• Restrict what the owner can do with their property once listed

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List of Assets of Community Value

List of land nominated by unsuccessful

community nominations

Community Organisation

Neighbourhood Planning Forum

Parish Council

Local Authority decides to list asset

Local Authority asks owner for comment

No objection from owner

Owners objection unsuccessful

Owner’s objection successful

Local Authority decides not to list

asset

Added to list of Community Value

Local Authority publicises and maintains list

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Owner decides to sell listed asset and informs Local

Authority

LA informs nominator and publicises to community

Window starts when owner tells LA of intention to sellInterim window of opportunity ends

6 w

eeks

Full window of opportunity ends

6 m

on

ths

Owner can sell to community

group

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Community Right to Build

Community Right to Build gives communities a new way to gainplanning permission for small new developments that they want to see in their area.

Might include homes, shops, businesses or facilities. The benefits of these developments will stay within the community.

Part of neighbourhood planning framework:

• Empowers communities to take control• Community led• Light-touch process• Inspire innovation and creativity• Permissive regime

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Community Right to BuildCurrent Position

• The Right came into force on 6 April 2012

• Government has launched a fund and support hub to assist communities who wish to use the Community Right to Build

• Fund is worth £17.5m – to meet up to 90% of costs of obtaining a CRtB Order – e.g. to assist with incorporation, preparing a business case, professional fees.

• The Support Hub is provided by Locality – practical advice to community groups, sharing best practice, links to case studies, e-mail and telephone enquiry service.

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Neighbourhood Planning

• Neighbourhood plans will help local communities play a stronger role in shaping the development of the areas in which they live and work.

• Neighbourhood planning gives the right to parish councils or designated neighbourhood forums to produce a Neighbourhood Plan or Neighbourhood Development Order or both.

• Once a Neighbourhood Plan is brought into force after a referendum it becomes part of the statutory development plan for the local area and is used to decide planning applications in that area.

• A Neighbourhood Development Order will automatically grant planning permission for development proposals which comply with the order.

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Neighbourhood Planning Current Position

• Regulations came into force in April 2012 that cover the procedural and technical requirements for preparing Neighbourhood Plans, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders.

• Regulations have been laid that set out the procedure for running neighbourhood planning referendums; subject to the Parliamentary timetable we anticipate these will come into force by Summer 2012

• DCLG anticipate Regulations that cover the conduct of referendums in designated business (neighbourhood) areas will be laid in late 2012 / early 2013.

• An introduction to neighbourhood planning and a series of frequently asked questions is available. The need for further guidance is being considered.

• Four support organisations have provided advice and assistance to communities wishing to do neighbourhood planning..

• Over 200 front-runner communities are leading the way in doing neighbourhood planning.

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The community applies for a neighbourhood area to be designated

Work up details with the community and consult consultees as appropriate

Independent Examination

If no parish or town council, a neighbourhood forum is designated

Local authority checks proposals

Community referendum

Make a plan or order

A simple majority is required here

Opportunity for consultees to provide written representations where major issues not dealt with above

Consultees notified of outcome

Submit proposals to the local authority

The examiner is checking the basic conditions – a plan or order must:

• have an appropriate fit with local and national policy;

• have special regard for listed buildings and conservation areas;

• be compatible with European and equality / human rights obligations

• Contribute to sustainable development

How will the Right work?

For Right to Build the process is instigated by a ‘community organisation’ where the community decides it wants to bring forward specific development proposals for the benefit of the community

The community wants to shape the growth and development of where they live

If there is a parish or town council they take the lead

UNCLASSIFIED

The community applies for a neighbourhood area to be designated

Work up details with the community and consult consultees as appropriate

Independent Examination

If no parish or town council, a neighbourhood forum is designated

Local authority checks proposals

Community referendum

Make a plan or order

Arrange for referendum/s to be held

Send submission and written representations to examiner

Duty to support here e.g. advise on general conformity with strategic policies of Local Plan; when/which consultees to involve; evidence requirements

- Consider examiner’s report - Satisfied proposal meets basic conditions, including EU or can meet conditions with modifications- Agree referendum area

Submit proposals to the local authority

Local authority rolePublicise proposed area for 6 weeks and designate a neighbourhood areaThe community wants to shape the growth and

development of where they livePublicise proposed forum for 6 weeks and make decision on designation

Appoint examiner with consent of community

Checking that group is authorised to act & all required information has been submitted NOT assessing merits of plan / order

Publicise / notify decision

Publicise, including how to make representations

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Upper Eden, Cumbria

                                                                                                                                                                               

Upper Eden in Cumbria is “the most sparse part of the most sparse district of the country”. The Upper Eden Community Plan Group is an association of 17 parishes and one of the neighbourhood planning front-runners.

The community has submitted an application to Eden District Council to designate its Neighbourhood Area, the first formal step to producing a Neighbourhood Plan.

Monday 28th May 2012 saw the formal launch of 6 weeks of consultation with residents, businesses and others on the draft proposals for the area. These are set out in the revised 2012 Upper Eden Neighbourhood Development Plan (Draft Proposal).

Amongst the areas that the neighbourhood plan is exploring are: how to deliver Broadband Internet Access through planning policy; how to meet local housing needs including housing for the elderly; and exploring opportunities for flexibility in the way housing on farms can be used to allow them to meet the changing circumstances of farms and farming families.

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Neighbourhood Planning Support

• DCLG is funding four organisations to provide advice and support to community groups who are undertaking neighbourhood planning work. They are: The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community; the RTPI (Planning Aid); Locality and CPRE (working with NALC).

• With the commencement of provisions in the Localism Act that enable the Secretary of State to support communities directly we are considering options for more direct funding to communities.

• We are committed to providing up to £50 million to local councils until March 2015 to make neighbourhood planning a success.

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Support

CLG has launched a community rights 'micro site' that explains all the new rights introduced in the Localism Act http://communityrights.communities.gov.uk

More information on the services of the 4 neighbourhood planning support organisations can be accessed via the links below.

http://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid/neighbourhood-planning/

http locality.org.uk/projects/building-community :///　

http://www.princes-foundation.org/what-we-do/projects/engage/clg-planning-scheme/supporting-communities-and-neighbourhoods-planning

http://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-do/housing-and-planning/planning/update/item/2691-get-involved-in-planning-your-neighbourhood. 

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Local Intelligence Team , Office of the Civil Society, Cabinet Office

Sheila Battersby

Policy Manager, Local Intelligence Team Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office

7th Floor, Arndale Tower, Arndale Centre, Manchester M4 3AQ

sheila.battersby@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk07900 165088

For more information:

www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

www.communities.gov.uk

www.number10.gov.uk/take-part/