Community Right to Bid FAQs

As the owner of a property listed as an Asset of Community Value, you may be entitled to claim compensation for loss or expenses incurred as a direct result of complying with the Act.

Claims must be made in writing, along with supporting evidence, by email to fplanning@hastings.gov.uk or by post to the Planning Policy team at Muriel Matters House.

Claims must be made within 13 weeks after the loss or expense has been incurred. Hastings Borough Council reserves the right to value the property to compare valuations.

There are some circumstances where the property owner does not need to comply with the Act, these are:

• Disposing of the property in the form of a gift
• Disposal of a property containing a business which uses the property and it is a going concern
• Disposal within a family or a partnership or between trustees or a trust or between companies in a group
• Disposal in the execution of a will or arising from various legal proceedings
• Disposal of a property that is part of a larger estate, part of which is not listed, but where the whole estate is owned by the same person and is a single lot of land.

A building or land is deemed to be of community value if, in the opinion of the council:

• A current main use of the building or land furthers the social interests or social wellbeing of the local community, and it is realistic to think that there can continue to be a main use of the building or land which will further the social interests or social wellbeing of the local community, although not necessarily in the same way, or;
• A main use of the building or land in the recent past (within the last 5 years) furthered the social interests or social wellbeing of the local community and it is realistic to think that within five years the building or land can brought back into use that furthers the social interest or wellbeing of the local community, whether or not in the same way as before.

Social interest includes cultural interests, recreational interests and sporting interests. Social wellbeing means the economic, social or environmental aspects of life that people value and contribute to them reaching their potential.

The landowner has a protected period of 18 months from the date the Council was first informed, in which to dispose of the freehold or grant a lease of 25 years or more. If the landowner does not dispose of the freehold or grant a lease of 25 years or more and the asset is still listed, the process must start again.

As such, the land owner may not dispose of the property without first informing us of their intention to dispose and the protected period of time will apply again.

Visit www.mycommunityrights.org.uk for further information.

A nomination cannot in itself trigger the moratorium period.