Neighbourhood Planning

The Localism Act (2011) and the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations deliver the Coalition Government’s commitment to create the ‘Big Society’ and neighbourhood planning.

The Council has already made progress with a number of initiatives that will help to deliver localism and neighbourhood planning in the borough.

Advice and Guidance

We have produced a toolkit of advice and guidance to help local communities through the process of neighbourhood planning. These guidance notes are available to download below:

Locality has produced a neighbourhood plans roadmap guide, funded by the government.

Core Strategy

The Council's Core Strategy has defined a number of ‘places’ within the borough: our main town centres, strategic sites and areas of change. For each of these places we conducted urban design analysis to understand the issues and opportunities and set the scene for workshops to discuss the ideas of local residents and the local business community.

Neighbourhood Planning Team

The Council has set up a Neighbourhood Planning team which is taking forward area-based planning in the borough.  Currently they are working on Earl’s Court SPD, Kensal SPD and the campaign for a Crossrail station on the site, reviewing our Conservation Area Proposal Statements and Town Centre Initiatives.

Neighbourhood Planning Projects

Assets of Community Value

Since September 2012, local community groups which meet a set of criteria laid down by government have been able to nominate an ‘asset’ in their local area to be placed on a Register of Assets of Community Value. This asset may be a building or a piece of land the use of which furthers the social well being or cultural, social, leisure or cultural interests of the local community. Only voluntary and community organisations which meet the government’s criteria can make nominations, not individuals. There is no fee.

If the owner of the asset then wishes to sell it, s/he must inform the local authority who will in turn inform local community groups, to give them an opportunity to consider whether they wish to bid for the asset to preserve its use for the future.

When an asset is nominated to be placed on the Register, the local authority will consider its suitability for inclusion against a number of criteria and also consult the owner prior to making a decision. The local authority will inform the owner and the nominator of the outcome of the nomination. An owner of an asset has a right of appeal against inclusion.

Assets successfully nominated will remain on the Register for five years, after which time their protection will expire.

How to nominate

Click on the link to access the nomination form. Before completing this, please read the guidance notes. 

Nominations for the Register of Community Assets are being managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea on behalf of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as well as for their own sites. Any enquiries should therefore be addressed to the Royal Borough at acvplanning@rbkc.gov.uk, or to the Planning enquiry line on 020 7361 3012 or by post to Assets of Community Value, Neighbourhood Planning Team, Planning and Borough Development, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX

The Register

The Register for all three boroughs will be maintained by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. As soon as a register is available and we have considered nominations, it will be made available on our web site.

Owners of registered assets

Owners of registered assets have a number of rights as well as obligations under this new duty. These are set out below.

Selling an asset

  • owners of registered assets must inform the local authority if they wish to sell the asset, and then wait for a period of six weeks to see whether any community groups wish to register an interest to bid
  • if a community group does register an interest, the owner must wait for a period of six months before selling the asset and must consider the community group’s bid. However, an owner is not obliged to sell to a community group and once the six week or six month period is up may dispose of the asset to whomsoever they please for any purpose

Agreement to registering an asset

If a nomination is received to register an asset the Council will, as part of the consultative process, consult the owner, tenants and leaseholders. If these people wish, they may object to the registration and the Council will take their views into consideration when making its decision.

Once an asset is registered, the owner may appeal against this decision and request an internal review. If the appeal is successful, the asset will be removed from the register.

If the owner appeals and is unsuccessful, they may make a final appeal to an independent tribunal by emailing GRC.CommunityRights@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk or by writing to

The Tribunal Clerk
Community Right to Bid Appeals
HM Courts and Tribunals
First Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
P O Box 9300
Leicester
LE1 8DJ

Compensation

Owners may feel that they have suffered loss or additional expense through their asset being listed. This may include a loss arising from a delay in entering into an agreement to sell due to the moratorium periods, or for legal expenses incurred in a successful appeal.

Claims for compensation must be made within 13 weeks of the date of the end of the moratorium period. Or within 13 weeks of the date when the asset ceases to be listed. Claims must be made in writing to the local authority and must provide proof of loss. The local authority will consider the claim for compensation, and must explain its decision about whether the claim is valid in writing. There is no time limit for this.

Enforcing the new rules

There is a clear penalty for non compliance with the new rules by owners.

All new registrations on the Register of Assets of Community Value will also be recorded on the Local Land Charges Register. Therefore, when the asset changes hands, a search of the register will reveal the asset’s status.

When an asset is registered, the local authority will also inform the Land Registry.

Where a sale is found to have taken place which does not comply with the Localism Act 2011, that sale will be void.

Exemptions

Certain sales and disposals are exempt from the restrictions of the Act. Details of these can be obtained by calling the Planning Help Line on 020 7361 3012.

 

Page updated on 8 April 2013.