Assets of Community Value
Background
In 2012, powers under the Localism Act 2011 came into force which enable communities to apply to their local authority for certain types of properties, including pubs, to be designated an Asset of Community Value (“ACV”).
ACV status means that if the owner of the property wants to sell it, this cannot be done secretly as the local community has to be given the right to make a bid for the property and has a period of up to six months to do so.
A pub’s ACV status will usually be “a legitimate material consideration” when planning officers are considering whether to allow change of use to residential or other use.
ACV applications can only be made by a “voluntary or community body with a local connection” which includes charities, registered neighbourhood forums, unincorporated bodies with at least 21 members which do not distribute any surplus to their members, and parish councils.
ACV status lasts for 5 years then would need renewing.
Additional Planning Permission Protections
With effect from 6 April 2015, changes in planning law took effect that remove permitted development rights from pubs designated Assets of Community Value. This meant that all subsequent changes of use for such pubs required planning permission, whereas previously conversion of a pub to, say, a supermarket did not.
Pubs previously fell within the A4 planning use class which meant that without ACV status, they could be converted to other Class A uses (eg. supermarket, cafe), or even demolished, without planning permission or any community consultation.
However, in Sept 2020 the structure of planning use classes was revised, including the removal of the Class A category. Pub use was moved to a category on its own (ie. “sui generis”) meaning that all pubs now need planning permission for any change of use. The remaining former Class A uses were included in a new, broader Class E ‘Commercial, Business & Service’ category.
Local Authority ACV Contact Email Addresses:
Lambeth: cr2b@lambeth.gov.uk
Lewisham: community.assets@lewisham.gov.uk
Royal Greenwich: community-assets@royalgreenwich.gov.uk
Southwark: CommunityRighttoBid@southwark.gov.uk
Further Information
