A group of Pudsey residents has won the right to get their local pub listed as an asset of community value.
The group of 21 residents wants to preserve The White Horse pub, on Hough Side Road, for the future. They claim it is a vital resource for the community.
Listing the pub as an asset of community value gives communities a right to identify a property or land that is believed to further their social interests or social wellbeing.
It also gives them a chance to make a bid to buy the property on the open market should the owner – in this case Red Oak Taverns Limited – decide to sell.
A Leeds City Council report approving The White Horse as an asset of community value said they had received the request from an unincorporated community group called ‘The White Horse’ who say the pub is the ‘hub of the community’. It says:
“It is considered by Leeds City Council that the current use does further the social interests and social wellbeing of the local community.”
The reports adds ‘The White Horse is open and trading and there is no evidence to suggest any plans to the contrary; i.e. to change its use or indeed close it’.
The White Horse group have stated that the purchase of the site ‘could be achieved through savings and a part mortgage’.
The report adds ‘The White Horse’ group would need to become an incorporated community group – where it is a legal entity which can enter into contracts, buy or lease property and employ people – to trigger the moratorium period, bid or buy the property.
The full council report can be read here.
What is an asset of community value?
Local residents have a right to identify a building or other land that they believe to be of importance to their community’s social well-being.
The aim is that, if the asset comes up for sale, then they will be given a fair chance to make a bid to buy it on the open market.
If the nominated building meets the definition of an asset of community value, the local authority will list it. The owner will have a right to an internal review by the council, and a right of appeal to an independent tribunal against the result of the internal review.
Nothing further will happen unless and until the owner decides to dispose of the asset, either through a freehold sale, or the grant or assignment of a lease, granted for at least 25 years.