Enabling Community
Ownership and Management of
Assets
John Kerridge
Assistant Director: Culture and Communities
London Borough of Lambeth
Our Journey (so far)
Getting our house in order!
December 2010:
Commissioned audit of groups in occupancy of
Council owned building (Community Matters)
December 2011:
we opened consultation on proposals to develop a
network of community hubs over the next 4 years.
April 2012:
Close of consultation
July 2012:
Cabinet report agreed the following:
1. The strategic vision and direction.
2. A community asset plan.
3. Capacity building support targeted at groups managing building
October 2012:
A new ‘enabling community asset ownership and management’
Our Journey has just started!
Establishing the debate
Ambition
‘The
Council seeks to enable an increase in the
Community ownership and management of assets
within neighbourhoods throughout the London Borough
of Lambeth – to stimulate the creation of new social
markets, underpin robust community enterprise capable
of delivering high quality local services and provide
residents with new learning and employment
opportunities.’
Way of working
Codesign/coproduction: A transformative way of thinking about
power, resources, risks and outcomes, but not a single magic
solution
Sharing information
Being honest (Councils cannot provide all the solutions, answers
and there will be difficult decisions to make)
But taking tough decisions within an overall framework that also
provided impact mitigation and opportunities
Being clear about accountabilities and responsbilities
Context and Challenges
Context and Challenges (1)
• Council needs to save £90m+ over 4 years
• Our current policy of providing buildings to voluntary and
community groups is unsustainable
• A lack of building ownership within the voluntary and
community sector – how do we change this?
• Solutions will need to be coproduced, including the
attraction of external investment into buildings
• New communities and their building requirements
• No easy solutions, but there remains opportunities if we
work together
Context and Challenges (2)
• There are approximately 100 voluntary and community
sector groups occupying council owned buildings
• The estimated value of these buildings is around £20m
• Estimated required investment £5m
• Many excellent examples of VCS tenants
• Small number of groups refusing to enter into lease
agreement for occupancy or unwilling to pay rent unless
they receive a grant from the Council
• Estimated rental income £1.5m actual £800k
Policies and Investment
Policy Based on Outcomes
• An increase in the sustainable ownership of buildings within the
voluntary and community sector
• The Council ceasing to provide this area of service within the next 4
years through its commercial portfolio
• Creating new platforms for coproduction of service through community
hubs
• Facilitating and maximising investment
• Delivery savings
• Securing capital receipts to enable reinvestment
• A new ‘enabling community asset ownership and management’
Purpose of Policy
• Describes how we intend to increase community
ownership and management of assets, which are
consistent with the cooperative council ethos:
• The Meanwhile Use of Assets
• Community Asset Transfer
• The Community Right to Bid or ‘Assets of Community
Value’ Provisions
• The Community Right to Reclaim Land, and
• Compulsory Purchase for Communities
Community Asset Plan
Type of investment
To stimulate additional supply of office/unit/flexi hot desks
Council owned property earmarked for asset transfer under new
policy
Estimate Value
£350,000
£1.2m
Capital recipients earmarked for investment (utilising libraries
and other community buildings)
£7m
Property occupied by voluntary and community sector groups
remaining in Council ownership valued
£3.4
Council building earmarked for community hubs
£10.4m
Capacity Building
• Agreed £160,000 of community capacity building
support over the next 2 years
• Lambeth Voluntary Action Council and
Community Matters now working up the level and
type of community capacity building support.