AMT Public

30.05.2012

The Community Right to Build – which came into force on 06.04.2012 – gives groups of local people the power to “deliver the type of development that their local community needs. This could be building new homes, new businesses, shops, playgrounds or meeting halls” (more on our recent post about this).

Today (30.5.12), community groups in England (outside Greater London) have been invited to apply for a share of £17.5m funding which is being made available to help groups to formally establish, build up their development proposals and submit a Community Right to Build Order. The funding is available until the end of March 2015.

Separate arrangements are in place for Greater London and are being overseen by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Any community group or parish council can seek to access the funding provided that they have constituted a formal organisation that meets certain basic standards. Community groups that are considering applying for a Community Right to Build Order are encouraged to first discuss their proposals with the Community Right to Build Support Hub Locality who can be contacted at: Locality’s website or by telephone on 0845 345 4564 between 09.30 – 12.30 on week days.

What next?

• Further details on how to apply and the requirements of the programme are detailed in the application guidance which is available to download at http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/community-right-to-build
• The Government has launched a Community Rights website
• How to create a community led plan
• AMT’s Town MOT service can help to ensure that your town is ready for the opportunities (and potential challenges!) that the new Localism Act, and neighbourhood planning legislation, will offer you
• Further Localism solutions from AMT