An overview.
Minutes:
Norman Coombe, Principal Lawyer and Head of the Governance Team, outlined the Localism Bill. According to the Department for Communities, Law and Governance: “The Localism Act will trigger the biggest transfer of power in a generation, releasing councils and communities from the grip of central government.”
The Act itself had 241 sections and 25 schedules with 142 powers for the Secretary of State to make subordinate regulations. A plain English Guide was available. Under the General Power of Competence, a local authority had power to do anything that individuals may generally do.
Under the Community Right to Challenge:
- An authority must consider an expression of interest in relation to providing or assisting in providing a service provided by or on behalf of the local authority, submitted by a voluntary or community body, charity, parish council, or 2 or more employees of the authority.
- An authority may set out periods when an expression of interest may be submitted. Any such period must be published. Where no period is specified, an expression of interest may be submitted at any time.
- If accepted by the authority, the expression of interest triggers a procurement exercise.
Assets of Community Value:
- Requires local authorities to maintain a list of ‘assets of community value’
- Assets can be owned by anyone, not just the local authority
- Land may only be included on the list in response to a community nomination or where permitted in regulations
- Community nominations defined as nominations made by a parish council or a voluntary or community body with a local connection
- When a listed asset comes up for sale there is a six-month moratorium, to give community groups time to develop a bid and raise the money to buy it.
Planning:
There will be rights for local communities to shape their local areas through,
- Neighbourhood Development Orders (NDOs);
- Community Right to Build Orders (type of NDO);
- Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs)