The Community Right to Bid was created in the Localism Act in September 2012 across the country.
This means that communities can ‘stop-the clock’ on the sale of valuable local assets and amenities like post offices, village shops or community pubs, giving them time to put in a bid of their own and protect it for the wider benefits of the community.
The new right gives voluntary and community organisations and parish councils the opportunity to nominate an asset to be included on a list of ‘Assets of Community Value’, pausing the sale of a successfully listed asset for six-months, giving communities the opportunity and time to prepare a bid and get a business plan together.
The key point to consider is that the pub owner is not bound to sell an ACV pub to a community group but must weigh that against the risk of bad press and reputational damage. The owner is only bound to give time to the community group to bid for the pub. An ACV will potentially have an impact on timing of a sale and at worst it will constrain the ability to convert a pub to alternative use.
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