3. Every community has assets and potential
within it – land and buildings, people, skills and
networks, funding – even the most deprived
communities. But, we don’t always recognise
what we have in our midst…
6. Take the first step! We believe mapping
assets of community value – in the broadest
sense of the term - is the most helpful way to
begin identifying local strengths and
opportunities.
7. Places of value - “we particularly value this
place and what it means for us”
• Cultural or sporting or play spaces – museums, theatres,
sports centres, play spaces
• Community spaces – community centres, community
offices, resource centres, village halls, faith buildings
• Local democratic spaces – town halls
• Green spaces – village greens, nature reserves, parks,
sports fields
• Landmark buildings - buildings with particular heritage
or architectural merit
8. Places of opportunity - “this site could be used for
so much more…”
Sometimes we need to use our imagination. What does the
local community want its local area to be like? Are there
opportunities to create new places or services? Is there
anything important missing or in short supply?
Opportunity sites might be:
• Derelict or currently unused
• In use, but in need of refurbishment
• Previously undeveloped
• Only temporarily out of use
9. Services or activities of value - “we particularly
value this service/activity and what it does for us”
We might value these services even if we are not so
bothered about which building they are located in.
• Public services – such as libraries, health centres, schools,
children’s centres
• Retail or commercial services – such as the post office,
village shop or pub
10. Map >
Online surveys can reach hundreds of people easily and can be done free
of charge. If you have a membership database, you could try this, asking
them to email you suggested assets or going to a survey web page to give
their views. A more open ‘crowd sourcing’ approach can also be used,
inviting the public to take part, maybe through your website, twitter or
social networking sites.
Focus groups and discussion groups are good for bringing people
together to identify possible opportunities, discuss issues and see where
people agree. Having a map in front of you can help stimulate ideas.
Walkabouts with small groups of people, armed with cameras, can both
stimulate ideas and generate discussions within the groups. You could
agree which streets each group will look at.
The local media can be used to generate interest and report on
discussions, including newspapers and local bloggers
Don’t wait until the shop closes or the pub’s for sale sign appears. Don’t wait for an announcement from the local authority to learn what plans they have for your library or youth centre. The Right to Bid affords you a pre-emptive right – that is, a window of opportunity to raise the money needed to buy an asset, if you’ve successfully nominated and listed it as an asset of community value BEFORE it’s offered for sale.
The provisions within the Localism Act (2011) cannot easily be made to accommodate sites you identify as having ‘potential community value’. However, you also have recourse to the Right to Reclaim Land, and the Government has strengthened provisions to call upon local government to support Compulsory Purchase for Communities over the past 12 months. As such – mapping sites with potential is also useful.
Community Asset Transfer and the Right to Challenge are both worthwhile considering as you move beyond this initial mapping phase…
You can’t do everything – at least, not all at once! So, prioritise those assets you want to nominate as assets of community value, those services you want to talk to your local authority about, etc.
