How to use Community rights
Last Updated: 3 April 2024
To make sure that you and your neighbours have the community that you aspire to, the government has given you legal powers through the Localism Act 2011 to preserve what you like and change what you don’t like about the town or village you live in.
Neighbourhood Planning
Neighbourhood Plans enable local communities to shape the future of the places where they live and work. Neighbourhood planning have exactly the same legal status as those developed by councils.
Community Infrastructure Levy
Community Infrastructure Levy allows us to raise funds from developers and householders undertaking new building projects in South Lakeland. We use the money to help fund the wide range of infrastructure that is needed as a result of development. This includes new or safer road schemes, flood defences, schools, hospitals and other health and social care facilities, park improvements, green spaces and leisure centres.
Assets of Community Value and Community Right to bid
Community Right to Bid helps to protect locally important community assets. You and your neighbours can nominate any local building or land you love and then, if it comes up for sale, you have six months to raise the funds to buy it.
Community Asset Transfer
Community Asset Transfer is an established mechanism used to enable the community ownership and management of publicly owned land and buildings.
Community Shares
Community Shares enable residents to invest financially in community projects. Buying shares and becoming part-owners of a business allows local people to become supporters, volunteers and advocates, not just customers, and projects get much needed funding to get started and become financially sustainable. They can be used to run community farms, establish community shops or purchase solar panels. Not all the funding for the project needs to be raised through shares: you may find that having this base attracts larger private investors too.
Community Right to Challenge
Community Right to Challenge enables communities to bid to take over local services they think they can run differently and better. Examples may include youth services, parks, libraries and allotments.
Community Right to Reclaim Land
Community Right to Reclaim Land enables individuals, community groups and other organisations, including developers, to ask that it be brought back into use and even bid to buy it.