Enabling Community Ownership and Management of Assets

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Enabling Community Ownership and Management of
Assets
John Kerridge Assistant Director Culture and
Communities London Borough of Lambeth
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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!
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Establishing the debate
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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.

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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
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Context and Challenges
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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

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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

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Policies and Investment
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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

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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

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Community Asset Plan
Type of investment Estimate Value
To stimulate additional supply of office/unit/flexi hot desks Council owned property earmarked for asset transfer under new policy 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

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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.