Through the Localism Act, the Government has introduced new powers for communities in England to nominate valued facilities such as your local park, your town hall, local pub or shop can be listed as “Assets of Community Value”.
Once listed this enables communities to “stop the clock” for up to six months to consider how to save the assets if they are put up for sale or a change of use is proposed.
Once listed this enables communities to “stop the clock” for up to six months to consider how to save the assets if they are put up for sale or a change of use is proposed.
FIGHT FOR THE FOREST INN?
The Forest Inn at Hexworthy has been closed for two years. The Duchy has announced that it is also advertising the freehold of the Forest Inn in addition to continuing to advertise the leasehold. There is no requirement for a new freehold owner to reopen it as an inn. DFPC has previously discussed the option of declaring the inn as an Asset of Community Value, which would mean that (1) planning permission would be required for any change of use from an inn; and (2) the community would have the right to bid, with time to raise funds to buy the property. Community pubs can be very successful, for example the Royal Oak at Meavy. A number of landlords have tried and failed to make the Forest Inn pay as a business over recent years, but with the right management, business model and discretionary discounts from WDBC it may be able to be a successful inn again. It has in the past provided employment for around 14 local people. It is also a very large building and suggestions have been made in the past that sections of it could be converted to provide affordable housing units that are not provided anywhere else in the Huccaby/Hexworthy area. Consequently, the Forest Inn could if appropriately managed provide a significant benefit to the community by providing amenity, employment and housing. However, the building requires structural refurbishment, with an estimated cost of around £600,000 and possibly more. The building is continuing to deteriorate and the flat roof of the dining room was extensively damaged in a recent storm. The task of declaring the Inn an Asset of Community Value and then undertaking the fundraising, refurbishment and business management of the Forest Inn would to too much work for the Parish Council or the Huccaby/Hexworthy residents to take on. This could only be done if there is strong volunteer support from the wider community. If you wish to fight for the Forest Inn, please contact the Parish Clerk by before the next Parish Council meeting on 28 April 2016. Thank you.
The Forest Inn at Hexworthy has been closed for two years. The Duchy has announced that it is also advertising the freehold of the Forest Inn in addition to continuing to advertise the leasehold. There is no requirement for a new freehold owner to reopen it as an inn. DFPC has previously discussed the option of declaring the inn as an Asset of Community Value, which would mean that (1) planning permission would be required for any change of use from an inn; and (2) the community would have the right to bid, with time to raise funds to buy the property. Community pubs can be very successful, for example the Royal Oak at Meavy. A number of landlords have tried and failed to make the Forest Inn pay as a business over recent years, but with the right management, business model and discretionary discounts from WDBC it may be able to be a successful inn again. It has in the past provided employment for around 14 local people. It is also a very large building and suggestions have been made in the past that sections of it could be converted to provide affordable housing units that are not provided anywhere else in the Huccaby/Hexworthy area. Consequently, the Forest Inn could if appropriately managed provide a significant benefit to the community by providing amenity, employment and housing. However, the building requires structural refurbishment, with an estimated cost of around £600,000 and possibly more. The building is continuing to deteriorate and the flat roof of the dining room was extensively damaged in a recent storm. The task of declaring the Inn an Asset of Community Value and then undertaking the fundraising, refurbishment and business management of the Forest Inn would to too much work for the Parish Council or the Huccaby/Hexworthy residents to take on. This could only be done if there is strong volunteer support from the wider community. If you wish to fight for the Forest Inn, please contact the Parish Clerk by before the next Parish Council meeting on 28 April 2016. Thank you.
Although any asset may be listed, the most frequent listing of "Assets of Community Value" is for Pubs. Listing a pub can be hugely beneficial and acts as a marker that the pub is important to the local community. The fact that the community have rallied together to nominate a pub; and the local authority have agreed to list it adds a further level of protection as the listed status of a pub can be used by a local authority as a material consideration in a relevant planning application, such as if a pub is threatened with conversion to residential use. Getting a pub listed could therefore help put off property developers who want to avoid a contentious planning application. More importantly, if the owner decides to sell the pub off, if it is listed this will trigger a moratorium on the sale for up to six months, giving the community valuable time to get together a suitable bid for the pub. Since the scheme began in 2012, these new powers have already been used to stop the clock on sales of pubs and March 2013 saw the first community takeover of a pub using the scheme.
This page is designed to present basic information to help community groups decide whether they wish to take steps to declare a pub or any other land or building as an Asset of Community Value. It make considerable but not exclusive use of the advice provided by CAMRA. The following documents are CAMRA guides:
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Other advice and information:
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