The British Property Federation (BPF) has exposed the shortcomings in the government’s Community Right to Buy Scheme, claiming that it doesn’t provide a complete solution to saving local services such as post offices and pubs.
The scheme seeks to give locals the opportunity to take over the assets that are important to their community. They would then be able to nominate the asset to be listed with the local authority, and could bid for the asset if it was put up for sale.
In reality, however, further details reveal that communities may be able to take over the building but not the service. For example, post offices operate a contractual service, which would not be guaranteed to continue should the community bid for the building.
The BPF’s chief executive, Liz Peace, responded to the government’s proposals by saying “It is misleading of Government to portray the Community Right to Buy scheme as a mechanism for local communities to keep services open.
“If, for example, a local pub faces closure and the community manage to purchase it they would take ownership of the building and not the service. They would have to take on and organise this for themselves.
The BPF also fears for the development and growth of local economies if spurious or unsustainable nominations are made. They suggest that the government should implement a series of safeguards that communities must meet before listing a property with the local authority.
No comments:
Post a Comment