Taking a Pro-Active Approach To Asset Transfer
You do not have to wait to be approached by a voluntary or community group. You can take a more pro-active approach to providing a better sports service for your community through asset transfer. You can begin by:
- finding out what your authority's policy is on community asset transfer.
- auditing your sports facilities to identify those that could be transferred
- discussing with your partners - such as your Community Sports Network - how local facilities could be developed with the community.
If you are a sports specialist/practitioner, then you should approach your local sports partnership to find out what they are doing on asset transfer. If you are a property manager or specialist you could approach your sports partnership to discuss with them the opportunities that asset transfer represents.
Beginning a dialogue with a community about the possibility of transferring a piece of land or a building can seem a daunting prospect. The ideal starting point is to talk with groups already working with the community or working in the area concerned.
See the LINKS page for some of the key contacts in each of the local authority areas across the West Midlands.
In almost all cases a strategic approach to asset transfer will be important to ensure the best outcome for the community. In each local authority area the development of such a strategic approach should be done in partnership between all the public sector organisations and the voluntary and community sector - linked to the delivery of the Community Strategy and local area agreement.
As asset transfer is still a relatively new area of public policy, new guidance is being developed all the time. The Department for Communities and Local Government has been supporting a national pilot programme which will be producing guidance on an ongoing basis. See LINKS page for details.
The rest of this resource is aimed at voluntary and community organisations – but Public Sector Organisations might find it useful to go through it as well to see what would be involved.