Foster welcomes neighbourhood response to new localism powers

Foster told delegates at the 'Locality '12' conference for community enterprise and social action practitioners that the Government's Community Rights website has received over 1,600 enquiries in three months from groups interested in using new localism powers to run local services and assets.

The new powers, which have all come into effect this year, include 'Community Right to Build', which gives communities the right to build small-scale site-specific projects without going through the normal planning process, and neighbourhood planning which gives communities more say about what they can build in their area.

The 'Community Right to Challenge' scheme gives communities the right to bid to run local council services where they think they can do it differently and better than the Council and the 'Community Right to Bid' scheme allow local community groups to delays sales of land and properties which are of value to them.

"Localism is at the very core of what we are trying to achieve," Foster told delegates. "Communities know their areas best and that is why we are not just talking about pushing power back to neighbourhoods - we are making it a reality and these figures show that it is happening where it matters, on the ground."

"New initiatives such as the Community Right to Bid allowing people to step in and save the facilities and buildings that are important to them; Neighbourhood Planning, gives them a powerful tool to help shape their surroundings and the Community Right to Challenge, allowing them to challenge the way a service is run and even bid to run it themselves are all vital steps in moving power away from Whitehall and Town Halls and into the hands of local people."

"Across the country, communities are showing they have the ambition and determination to secure ownership of important local assets and get new projects off the ground, and today is a vital opportunity to share this knowledge and experience," Foster said.