Assets of Community Value

The Localism Act 2011 requires local authorities to keep a list of assets of community value. This means buildings or other land. Camden's list of Assets of Community Value (ACV) can be viewed below.

Community groups can ask the council to list land or a building as an asset of community value. If the asset goes up for sale, the community are offered 6 months to develop a proposal and raise money to bid for it. This is known as the 'community right to bid'. Designation as an ACV does not, however, restrict who owners can sell to or at what price. It also does not affect an owner's ability to seek planning permission to change the use or redevelop a property after it has been designated. Once an asset has been placed on the Council's list of ACVs it will usually remain there for five years.

We have provided advice for community groups and property owners on this webpage. However, landowners and applicants are also recommended to consult Government and Locality guidance. Please see the 'Related pages' box on this webpage.

If you are interested in submitting a nomination or wish to make a bid for an ACV, contact us:

• Email the planning policy team: [email protected]
• Phone 020 7974 8988.

Camden's list of Assets of Community Value

Please search the interactive map and table below. 

This shows the ACVs currently designated (i.e. assets shown as 'successful') as well as assets that have been previously listed and have now expired or been redesignated. Data can be filtered using the filter above the map, and can be viewed full screen by selecting 'View Source Data' below the map.

Making a nomination

Certain types of community group have the right to nominate property. This is if they believe it furthers the social interests or social wellbeing of the local community.

A local authority can designate a building / land as an Asset of Community Value if it considers:

1. An actual or current use of the building or other land that is not an ancillary use furthers the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community; and
2. It is realistic to think that there can continue to be a non-ancillary use of the building or land which will further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community. This is whether or not in the same way as before. 

Land or buildings can also be of community value if in the opinion of the authority:

1. There is a time in the recent past when an actual use of the building or other land that was not an ancillary use furthered the social wellbeing or interests of the local community, and
2. It is realistic to think that there is a time in the next five years when there could be a non-ancillary use of the building or other land that would further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community. This is whether or not in the same way as before. 

Social interests can include cultural, recreational and sporting interests. Private or publicly-owned property may be nominated.

A residential property cannot be designated as an asset of community value.

It is also necessary to show that the main use of the property can continue to further social wellbeing/social interests in the future. In the case of a property where the use ceased in the recent past, that it could be brought back into social use within five years.

Who can make a nomination

Eligible community groups can make a nomination where they have a local connection with the area. This is where the group's activities are wholly or partly concerned with Camden or a neighbouring borough.

Eligible groups are:

• An unincorporated body with a membership including at least 21 people registered to vote in Camden, or a neighbouring borough
• Neighbourhood forums
• A charity, industrial and provident society or company limited by guarantee which does not distribute any surplus to its members, or a community interest company.

How to make a nomination

There is an application form below for making a nomination for a building/land to be designated by the Council as an ACV. This form sets out the information the Council needs to assess whether to designate a proposal as an ACV.

Nominate an asset of community value

Please contact us if you have any queries about the nomination form or the supporting information we need.

How the Council will consider a nomination

When we receive an application, we will check if this has been made by an eligible body. Membership of an unincorporated body will be checked against the electoral roll. We will make our decision on the application within 8 weeks of receiving it. Decisions are delegated to the Chief Planning Officer of Camden Council.

If we consider the application does not meet the criteria, the Council will provide the reasons why. The nomination will be added to the list of unsuccessful applications. We will also write to you if the nomination is successful.

Assets will remain on the list for five years. A land charge will be registered against the property and a restriction on the title will be registered with the Land Registry. When the five years have expired, an eligible community group is able to submit a new nomination.

Only a community interest group that meets the Government's criteria can be treated as a potential bidder. A community interest group must be:

• a charity
• a community interest company
• a company limited by guarantee that is non profit distributing
• an industrial and provident society that is non profit distributing.

Within six weeks of the Council notifying the community that an owner wishes to sell the ACV, a community interest group must tell us in writing that it wishes to bid. This will then open a six month period in which to prepare a bid.  This is from the day the owner notified the Council of their intention to sell. This period is known as the moratorium.

Please note there are some types of disposal that the Localism Act deems to be 'exempt'. This means a community interest group cannot exercise its right to bid. Therefore the moratorium cannot be triggered. Examples include:

• Disposal in the form of a gift
• Disposal of a property containing a business which uses the property and is a going concern
• Disposal within a family or 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 this is not listed, but the whole estate is owned by the same person and is a single lot of land
• Disposals where the leasehold is less than 25 years.

The full list of exemptions are set out in Annex A of the Government guidance on ACV.  See the 'Related pages' box on this webpage.

Where no exemption applies, the Council will acknowledge the request to bid. It will notify the owner that the moratorium has been triggered. Please note that the community's bid may ultimately not be the successful one. This is because once the moratorium period has ended, the owner can sell to whoever they choose and at whatever price.

Following the moratorium, if the owner does dispose of the property, a 'protected period' will start. This means that a further moratorium cannot be triggered by a community group for a period of 18 months. This runs from the date the owner originally notified the authority of its intention to sell.

We will take all practicable steps to notify owners and lawful occupants if a building/land is nominated for listing. We will also write to the owner and occupants about the outcome of the nomination. We will always write to the address for the nominated building where one is available. We will also write to the most recent owner shown on the Land Registry title.

If the Council decides that a property should be included on the list of Assets of Community Value, the landowner has the right to ask for that decision to be reviewed. A request to review a decision must be made in writing. This must be within eight weeks of the date when written notice was given by the Council of inclusion of a property on the list of ACVs. Please see contact details on the main Assets of Community Value page.

The decision to list the property will then be reviewed by an officer or officers of the Council who did not take part in the original decision making. This review will be carried out within eight weeks of the date of the written request for a review. The Council will provide further details in writing to the appellant setting out the procedures for the appeal and documentation it requires to review a decision.

The decision of the Council's listing review can be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal by the owner of the property. If this appeal is successful the owner is able to claim reasonable legal expenses.

If a review of the listing or appeal to the First Tier Tribunal is successful, the ACV must be removed from the list of assets. The property must be included in the list of unsuccessful nominations.

Landowners who decide to sell an ACV must contact the Council. We will then write to the nominating body to tell them of the intention to sell. If no community group notifies the Council within six weeks that it wishes to bid, the owner is free to sell the property. If a community group does notify the Council that it wishes to make a bid for the ACV, it will have up to six months to prepare the bid. The owner is free to decide who it wishes to sell the ACV to after the moratorium has ended.