Nominating an ACV
1. You must be an eligible community group
It is important that your community group is eligible to nominate. Eligible groups include:
- parish councils
- neighbourhood forums (as defined in Neighbourhood Planning regulations)
- unincorporated community groups of at least 21 members
- not-for-private-profit organisations (e.g. charities).
Community organisations must have a local connection. This means their activities are wholly or partly concerned with the local area, or with a neighbouring council’s area.
2. The building or land must be eligible
Buildings or land can be nominated as an ACV if their main use furthers the wellbeing or social interests of the local community.
There is not a definitive list of what can be listed as an ACV, but common nominations include:
- village shops
- pubs
- community centres
- children's centres
- allotments
- libraries
Some buildings and land cannot be nominated by law. These include:
- homes and residential buildings
- hotels
- Church of England land holdings
3. You will need evidence
For your listing to be successful, we will need lots of evidence of how the land or building furthers the wellbeing or social interests of the community.
You should gather as much evidence as you can before making your nomination. Common forms of evidence include:
- testimonials
- advertisements
- lists of the clubs or groups that use the facility and how often
- photographs
- websites that show the history of the facility and how it is used
4. Know what an ACV listing will and will not achieve
Getting your asset listed as an ACV means if the owner wants to sell the ACV, they have to tell us first.
This starts a 6 week period where community groups can express an interest in bidding for the property. If none do, the owner can sell at the end of the 6 weeks.
If a community group does want to bid, a 6 month period begins. During these 6 months, the group can get together a bid for the property. The owner cannot sell, unless to a community group, until the end of these 6 months.