Local people will be urged to take more control over disused council buildings if they can show they can do a better job, as part of the Government's plans to devolve more power from Whitehall to local people in a White Paper announced today. As part of this, Northumberland County Council will host one of 18 new pilots announced today to help local residents take over council buildings, with practical help to develop proposals to do so -including a library in Northumberland, disused council offices in Hebden Bridge, a farm in South Gloucestershire, or a covered market in Brighton.
Every region in England will benefit from the scheme which was also today extended by a year to 2010/11 and will now reach out to over 100 areas.
Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears also warned councils not to 'sit on their assets' and encouraged them to publish an 'assets' list for residents to shop from - for as little as a pound - if they spot an underused building they want to take over, and for councils to better manage their assets.
Supporting these measures, a new independent hub of advice for local people and local authorities was unveiled in the White Paper. One of the first tasks of the 'asset transfer unit' will be to extend this programme of pilots across the country to boost the number of asset transfers.
Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears said:
"Residents are happier with their local area when they are given more say and more control over local decisions. I want everyone to have the confidence and enthusiasm to make a difference in their community - and if they see a disused building in their neighbourhood, to make a case for the community to take it over and put it to better use.
"These pilots, and the new unit, will give local people a hand and the experience to deliver this and help bring devolution to the doorstep." The 18 new pilot areas announced today are:-
- North East: Northumberland County Council
Northumberland County Council
Library into community services one-stop-shop Prudhoe Library is in need of renovation and the opportunity has arisen to work in conjunction with the Prudhoe Community Partnership.
The proposal would extend and refurbish the library to accommodate the Community Partnership, Registrar's Service and possibly the Tourist Information Centre to provide a one-stop shop for community services.
The council could then lease the building on long lease to enable the partnership to use it to provide full range of community services.
- North West: Chester City Council, Wirral Council
- Yorkshire and Humberside: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, City of Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council; Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
- West Midlands: Herefordshire Council, Worcester Council
- East Midlands: High Peak Borough Council; Northamptonshire County Council
- East of England: - Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
- South West: South Gloucestershire Council, Torbay Council, Sedgemoor District Council
- South East: Oxford City Council, Maidstone Borough Council, Brighton and Hove City Council
- London: Southwark Council.
