How £1bn can save the soul of austerity Britain

THEY ARE hubs of community life that offer crucial services and support our well-being but the erosive affect of government public spending cuts is threatening to take them away.
Helen Flynn, village shop project manager at the Darley Playing Fields Association, with Dawn Abbott at Darley Village Shop and Post Office.Helen Flynn, village shop project manager at the Darley Playing Fields Association, with Dawn Abbott at Darley Village Shop and Post Office.
Helen Flynn, village shop project manager at the Darley Playing Fields Association, with Dawn Abbott at Darley Village Shop and Post Office.

Years of austerity cuts have already seen councils across the country sell public land and buildings, and while community ownership is an option that works for some, too little help is available to save many libraries, community and sports centres, and parks and green spaces from falling into the hands of private developers, according to a new report.

It is estimated that local authorities currently have an “asset base” of £250bn, but over the next few years there is a huge risk that more publicly-owned land and buildings will be sold off, cut or shut.

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The warning from Locality, the national network of community-led organisations, comes with an urgent call for the Government to back a new £1bn investment plan that would empower community groups and organisations to take over the management or ownership of local public land and buildings.

Dewsbury Museum, Crow Nest ParDewsbury Museum, Crow Nest Par
Dewsbury Museum, Crow Nest Par

Central government would lead the way by committing £125m over a five-year period and half of the fund - £500m - would be sought from the Dormant Assets Commission.

Ahead of Locality’s annual convention in York today, its chief executive Tony Armstrong criticised councils for selling off public land and buildings to the highest bidder.

“This is a very short-sighted view which puts communities at risk of permanently losing important public buildings and spaces for the sake of a quick buck. Transferring public assets to communities can safeguard them for generations to come and we urgently need the government and other funders to step in to support organisations to do exactly that.

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“These assets can only be sold once - once they’re lost, they’re lost forever - and there is a real threat that short-term decisions being made by cash strapped councils will seriously weaken local communities which are already feeling disempowered.”

Dewsbury Museum, Crow Nest ParDewsbury Museum, Crow Nest Par
Dewsbury Museum, Crow Nest Par

The Department for Communities and Local Government believes councils have the means to protect public assets.

A spokesman said: “We have agreed a historic four-year funding settlement so councils can plan ahead with confidence – with almost £2bn to spend over the course of this Parliament. This should allow Councils to prioritise services local people and community groups really value.”

Yet only this week Kirklees Council closed the Grade II listed Dewsbury Museum after 120 years as part of plans to trim £531,000 from the authority’s museums and galleries budget.

Red House Museum in Gomersal will also shut on December 21.

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There are however some examples to be found in Yorkshire where communities are successfully running their own community buildings.

The only shop and post office in the North Yorkshire village of Darley near Harrogate closed at the start of 2015 but after more than 18 months of fundraising by local volunteers a new village shop and cafe opened in August 2016 in the village’s playing fields pavilion. Some £15,000 was raised from within the local community and around £50,000 was secured in grant funding. The shop is run by a lease-holder and a post office will open soon.

It proves communities can run local assets, said Helen Flynn, the shop’s project manager, who added: “You have to own your vision and feel positive about why you are doing it.”