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Community Rights:A Reality Check

Nick Bird

www.urbanforum.org.uk

fromcommunitytopolicy Community Rights

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Community Right to Challenge

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Community Right to Buy

fromcommunitytopolicyCommunity Right to Build

Neighbourhood Planning

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Community Rights Made Real (Dudley)

Dudley Council for Voluntary ServiceDudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Dudley Community Partnership

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Some general issues

14/09/10

Historical – people feel let down by previous initiatives

Timing – at same time as cuts – retreat to ‘silos’

Culture shift – “On a bad day it feels like the Government is

abdicating responsibility”

Engagement is an intensive business. “You don’t become

empowered by just having a right”Communities change. People come

and go - groups wax and wane

Differences between larger VCS and smaller community groups

Policy priorities change - new initiatives don’t build on

what already exists

Difference in how different parts of the council operate. Difference

between policy and practice

Senior council officers have limited understanding of the VCS

Local government seems to be waiting to see what happens rather than being proactive

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BARRIERSCommunity right to challengeMeeting service delivery quality & standards

Destabilisation of services

Costs incurred in procurement

It will open the door to the private sector

Councils prefer one big contract rather than lots of smaller ones

Local knowledge & building the local economy versus cost

Community right to buyWe will get the worst buildingsGroups don’t have the capacity to manage buildingsRenting is safer than buyingAssets can become liabilitiesLimited power when up against the big playersIt takes time to put a bid together

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Quite a positive response to Neighbourhood Planning But

Very little feedback on Community Right to Build

Some questions regarding Neighbourhood PlanningHow do we agree on a neighbourhood?

What if the council disagrees with us?

What about neighbourhoods that cross local authority boundaries?

How do we decide who can vote in a referendum?

What if there is a pocket of deprivation within a more affluent area and the residents have different needs?

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Our Society – Our SolutionsStories of success that are meaningful to local people

Partnerships for delivering services and managing assets

Networking / brokering

“Anatomy of Services”•Different levels of service?

•‘Whole’ or ‘parts’ of a service?•The value of community groups?

Better communication of council plans in a language

that people understandCommunity Right to Challenge

as a warning to instigate dialogueA flexible strategy around asset management

fromcommunitytopolicy Find out more:

Policy briefings: Community Rights, Localism Bill, Big Society mini-briefings and more…www.urbanforum.org.uk/briefings

Community Rights Policy Page: A collection of all our information resources on Community Rightswww.urbanforum.org.uk/policy-pages/community-rights