PUBLIC ASSET TRANSFER – SOUTH LANARKSHIRE’S PERSPECTIVE


Joanne Forbes, Estates Manager, South Lanarkshire Council Joanne is a Member of Council for the Scottish Branch, Branch Secretary, and a member of the Corporate Asset Management Group.


Joanne outlines the process and criteria being developed at South Lanarkshire for community ownership of assets.


Introduction


The Scottish Government/Cosla Community Empowerment Action Plan highlights community ownership of assets as a way in which communities can be empowered. While recognising that this is not the right solution for all communities, it sees the benefits as:


1. Generating long term sustainable revenue streams for community organisations


2. 3.


Instilling a heightened sense of civic pride and responsibility


Providing local people with a meaningful stake in the future development of the place in which they live and work


4.


Contributing to the more effective and intensive use of assets


5. Assets can be used as leverage to draw in new finance e.g. Lottery Growing Assets Programme


6.


Improving the quality of relationship between the citizen, the community and the local state


7.


Providing new opportunities for local learning and community capacity building


THE TERRIER - Summer 2012


Following the report Promoting Public Asset Transfer by the Development Trust Association Scotland in December 2009, this topic has been a subject of considerable debate within Scottish local authorities and in the past year there has been a marked increase in the number of community organisations enquiring about the possibility of purchasing or leasing properties from councils.


ACES Scottish Branch joined forces with Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) in January 2012 to hold an event in Glasgow to air the various concerns that exist in relation to this topic - from the principals of title restriction and clawback to the calculation of community benefit. The event was a great success, and was organised on the basis of “keynote listeners” rather than speakers, with a series of workshops discussing particular topics. Solicitors, surveyors, economic development officers, Big Lottery, OSCAR and politicians were involved in the debate.


The South Lanarkshire Process


As discussion continues as to the rights and wrongs of the various approaches, South Lanarkshire Council has developed a process for managing applications for transfer from organisations within its area. It has dealt with 8 formal applications through its project pilot, 4 of which have gone through the initial assessment stage to detailed negotiation, with one sale having recently concluded.


It was acknowledged from the outset that there are a great many issues surrounding property transfer and that one solution will not fit all situations. It was also recognised that property


transfer does not necessarily mean sale of a property at nil price. The objective of the pilot project was to identify a process that enables the various issues to be considered in a balanced way and to test draft criteria that would provide a fair basis for assessment of each application for transfer.


Where a property has been identified as having potential for, or existing interest in, public asset transfer, the Council advertises for expressions of interest. Details of the property are sent to the usual commercial property interests and builders but also to community organisations. A closing date for expressions of interest is set but at this stage financial bids and formal offers are not required. This enables the Council to assess the level of market interest in a property as well as to highlight any competing community interests. Out of the 8 pilot properties, 4 had competing community interests.


Community organisations are asked to complete assessment forms to support their case for asset transfer and the criteria for assessment fall into three principal areas:


Property To address the issue of condition, only properties that are capable of being brought back into economic use would be considered eligible for transfer. As a minimum, property must be:


ll In Council ownership


ll Surplus or due to become surplus to operational requirements


ll Structurally sound or capable of redevelopment/improvement


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