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Supporters group applies to have Hillsborough classed as an asset of community value


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Asset of Community Value – Q&A
What is an Asset of Community Value?


In the 2011 Localism Act, An Asset of Community Value is defined as: A building or other land is an asset of community value if its main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future.
An Asset of Community Value can be thought of as a designation. It ascribes to a piece of land or property the value that it is of benefit to the community. In particular, it designates a piece of land or a building as having a purpose in advancing the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community.
Typically, what type of assets get designated as having community value?
Many football grounds around the country are now designated as assets of community value. This includes the stadiums of recent winners of the Premier League including Liverpool (Anfield), Manchester United (Old Trafford), and Leicester City (King Power). ACV status for a stadium is not a defensive or reactive measure. It is the sign of modern-thinking and forward-looking football club. The Localism Act states that ‘social interests’ include cultural, recreational and sporting assets, hence the inclusion of football grounds as ACVs.
The largest group of ACV listings, however, have been for pubs, with over one hundred listed by August 2013 and six hundred by March 2015. In neighbourhoods across the country there are buildings and amenities that are integral to the communities that use them. This could be a village shop, a pub, a community centre or a library for example.
The regulations list a number of situations where land or buildings are exempted from inclusion on the list or operation of the moratorium. These include:
• Homes
• Hotels
• Assets being transferred between kindred (similar/same) businesses
• Church of England land holdings.


Who can apply to for a building to be designated an ACV?


A number of community organisations can nominate land and buildings for inclusion on the list, with the Trust falling under the heading of the final bullet point been registered as a Community Benefit Society with the Financial Conduct Authority:
• Parish councils
• Neighbourhood forums (as defined in Neighbourhood Planning regulations)
• Unconstituted community groups of at least 21 members
• Not-for-private-profit organisations (e.g. charities).
• Community organisations also have to have a local connection, which means their activities are wholly or partly concerned with the area, or with a neighbouring authority’s area.
Where do you have to apply to get a building designated as an ACV?


Sheffield City Council.


What extra legal protections are given to an Asset of Community Value?


An asset of community value is subject to extra legal protections surrounding the development and ownership of the asset.
Under the terms of the legislation, registration as an asset of community value covers three aspects ensuring local communities get to keep such buildings in public use and ensure they remain a social hub for the community:
• Material planning consideration: ACV status is a material consideration in a planning application and can be used by the local planning authority and Planning Inspectorate as a factor in refusing planning permission for full or partial change of use or demolition. ACV status prevents the use of the asset been changed for certain types of development (i.e. Housing) that is not of benefit to the local community.
• Community right to bid: this allows an ACV to be purchased by a group representing its users or the local community. Specifically, ACV status ensures the local community will be informed of any attempt to sell the asset by its owner within a five-year listing period (at the end of which the ACV status needs to renewed). The sale is then halted during a moratorium period in which the owner of the asset is legally halted from selling the asset.
• Compulsory purchase rights: an ACV-registered building can be compulsorily purchased by the local authority or council "if the asset is under threat of long-term loss to the community".


What is the moratorium period associated with an ACV?


There are two moratorium periods. The first last six weeks (the interim moratorium) during which the local community can decide if they want to be considered a bidder. The second lasts six months (the full moratorium) during which the community can develop a proposal and bid for the asset.
Who exactly is notified about the sale of an asset designated as been of community value?
The local authority (ie. Sheffield City Council) must be notified of any proposed sale of asset (such as a football stadium) deemed of community value. The local authority thereafter must make the local community aware of the bid such that it has time to activate its ‘right to bid’ should it wish.
Does ACV status mean the owner of the asset has to sell to the local community?
It does not mean that, no. At the end of the six-month period, should the community wish to impose a full moratorium period, the owner of the asset can still sell to whomever they choose even if the local community make a bid.


Does the owner of the asset have any right of appeal?


If a community organisation nominates land or buildings that meet the definition of an Asset of Community Value, and the nomination process was undertaken correctly (i.e. came from a group entitled to nominate), then the local authority must include the asset on its list.
Assets will remain on the list for at least five years. If the council decides that the nomination doesn’t meet the criteria, then they must write to the group who nominated the asset and provide an explanation. They must also keep a list of unsuccessful nominations for at least five years.
Landowners or asset holders can ask local authorities to review the inclusion of an asset on the list, and this triggers an appeal to an independent body, called a First-Tier Tribunal.


Are there any instances when the period of moratorium will not apply on an ACV?


The regulations list some situations where the Moratorium will not be applied, even when sale is proposed of an asset with community value. These include:
• If the disposal is a gift
• If the disposal is made between members of the same family
• If the land or building being disposed of is part of a bigger estate.
There is one further occurrence when a moratorium period will not apply on the sale of an ACV, but we consider this to be a positive:
• If the disposal is of a building or piece of land on which a going-concern business is operating, provided that the sale is to a new owner whose intention is to continue to operate the same business
Why is this a positive? Well, for example, if an owner of a football ground with an ACV wants to sell it as part of a deal including the football club to a new owner, who will continue to operate the asset as a football ground, then the moratorium will not apply. Consequently, the ACV is not a barrier to the sale / new investment into Sheffield Wednesday football club.


How long does ACV status last for?


ACV status lasts for five years after which reapplication is required.


Would ACV status for Hillsborough make Sheffield Wednesday a less attractive proposition for investment?


According to the Football Supporters Association, this is a claim that owners who wish to avoid ACV status on assets often make, but there is no foundation in it. Clubs with grounds that have ACV status are regularly sold.
Furthermore, as discussed above, it is specifically stated in the regulations that if the disposal is of a building or piece of land on which a going-concern business is operated, provided that the sale is to a new owner whose intention is to continue the same business, then the moratorium period is not initiated. For example, if an owner of a football ground with an ACV wants to sell it as part of a deal including the football club to a new owner, who will continue to operate Hillsborough as a football ground, then the moratorium will not apply. Consequently, the ACV is not a barrier to the sale / new investment into Sheffield Wednesday football club.
So, the ACV on Hillsborough would not stop a billionaire from coming in buying the club?
Absolutely not. If the billionaire bought Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Limited and Hillsborough Stadium (now owned by Sheffield 3) and their purpose was to operate both as a football club, then the moratorium period would not be initiated. ACV status would prove no barrier to the sale of the club.


What is the Trust’s motivation for applying for ACV status for Hillsborough?


• Practical: A meeting with the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme on the 1st December 2020 brought to light that Hillsborough is under-utilised during the week with lots of space going un-used. ACV status is a prompt to the club to make this space available for the betterment of the local community and its people and to support the excellent work of the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme.
• Vision: What type of football club do we want Sheffield Wednesday to be? ACV status is a reminder that Sheffield Wednesday is the beating heart of its local community and prompts the club to go above and beyond successful one-off events, such as Owls in the Park, no matter how successful or cherished those activities are to fans. Community work involves rolling up sleeves and hard-work of which SWFC (the football club) needs to do more in support of its excellent charitable arm, the Sheffield Wednesday community programme.
• Transparency: ACV status delivers much needed transparency over the ownership of our ground – and an important mechanism in providing accountability to decision-making at the club.


Does Sheffield Wednesday Football Club support the bid to have Hillsborough designated as an Asset of Community Value?


We are an organisation that is committed to devolving democratic decision-making to our members. As a result, our first step was to consult and ballot our members on whether they wish an application for ACV status for Hillsborough to be submitted. If members answer in the affirmative, then the Trust will ask the club for some time to present our proposals to SWFC in the hope of securing their public support for the bid and an accompanying statement to be submitted alongside our application.
Do other supporters’ groups back the bid to have Hillsborough designated as an Asset of Community Value?
We are an organisation that is committed to devolving democratic decision-making to our members. As a result, our first step was to consult and ballot our members on whether they wish an application for ACV status for Hillsborough to be submitted. If members answer in the affirmative then the next step for the Trust is to build a coalition of support behind the bid, which will include, hopefully, backing from other supporters’ groups.


Do local politicians support the bid to have Hillsborough designated as an Asset of Community Value?


We are an organisation that is committed to devolving democratic decision-making to our members. As a result, our first step was to consult and ballot our members on whether they wish an application for ACV status for Hillsborough to be submitted. If members answer in the affirmative then the next step for the Trust is to build a coalition of support behind the bid, which will include, hopefully, backing from politicians from across the political parties.


Why does Hillsborough need an ACV? Why can you not achieve the same thing through a Neighbourhood Plan?


Interestingly, Neighbourhood Plans and ACVs introduced in the same 2011 Localism Act. However, they do very different things, which we list below, and as you will see a Neighbourhood Plan is not really applicable to achieving the specific objectives of practical use of Hillsborough, vision for the football club, or transparency around ownership of Hillsborough that ACV status will achieve.


Neighbourhood Plan:

• Neighbourhood Development Plan - a plan will establish the vision and planning policies for the use and development of land in your neighbourhood. Once adopted it would be used alongside the National Planning Policy Framework and the Sheffield Plan when deciding planning applications
• Neighbourhood Development Order - allows the community to grant planning permission for certain types of new developments within a neighbourhood area
• Community Right to Build Order - gives communities the power to develop local, often small scale, developments where they want them


Asset of Community Value:
• Material planning consideration: ACV status is a material consideration in a planning application and can be used by the local planning authority and Planning Inspectorate as a factor in refusing planning permission for full or partial change of use or demolition. ACV status prevents the use of the asset been changed for certain types of development (ie. Housing) that is not of benefit to the local community.
• Community right to bid: this allows an ACV to be purchased by a group representing its users or the local community. Specifically, ACV status ensures the local community will be informed of any attempt to sell the asset by its owner within a five-year listing period
(at the end of which the ACV status needs to renewed). The sale is then halted during a moratorium period in which the owner of the asset is legally halted from selling the asset.
• Compulsory purchase rights: an ACV-registered building can be compulsorily purchased by the local authority or council "if the asset is under threat of long-term loss to the community".


What are your sources and is there any further reading?


Act of Parliament (2012) The Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012. Available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2421/contents/made
Department for Communities and Local Government (2011) Assets of Community Value – Policy Statement. Available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6069/1987150.pdf
Department for Communities and Local Government (2012) Community Right to Bid: Non-Statutory Advice Note for Local Authorities. Available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/14880/Community_Right_to_Bid_-_Non-statutory_advice_note_for_local_authorities.pdf
Sheffield City Council (2021) Neighbourhood Planning. Available here: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/planning-development/neighbourhood-planning

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Can’t help but thinking this stinks of a wannabe owners driving a consortiums to buy the club but not having the financial resource to operate it or invest in it when they have it 

 

People can be upset if they don’t like how something is run and have the right to vent 

 

but perusing a takeover when they don’t have the finances is just a noise disaster and becomes messy 

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9 minutes ago, wellbeaten-the-owl said:

Don't read it that way 5 years is period before re application.

 

I think if DC intends to sell stadium (either on its own or as part of selling club + stadium) then community notified, have 6 wees to decide if want to bid or not and if want to bid then further 4 and half months to raise finance and submit a bid).

 

Doesn't mean owner has any obligation to sell to community and can just refuse the bid and sell to who they want in end anyway?

 

 

Yes I see what you mean, I was more thinking on the lines it would put a potential buyer off if there was a 6 month delay, as I initially thought that was the time given to decide whether to bid.

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14 minutes ago, wellbeaten-the-owl said:

Don't read it that way 5 years is period before re application.

 

I think if DC intends to sell stadium (either on its own or as part of selling club + stadium) then community notified, have 6 wees to decide if want to bid or not and if want to bid then further 4 and half months to raise finance and submit a bid).

 

Doesn't mean owner has any obligation to sell to community and can just refuse the bid and sell to who they want in end anyway?

 

 

Yes, that is true. But after a moratorium period, and with the potential sale in the public domain. 

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7 minutes ago, fpowl said:

Can’t help but thinking this stinks of a wannabe owners driving a consortiums to buy the club but not having the financial resource to operate it or invest in it when they have it 

 

People can be upset if they don’t like how something is run and have the right to vent 

 

but perusing a takeover when they don’t have the finances is just a noise disaster and becomes messy 

 

The Trust do not want to own the club or buy shares. From our Q&A on the website:
 

Will the Supporters Trust seek to own the club or buy shares?

This is not the strategy of the interim board who believe that the modern Championship makes fan ownership a very difficult proposition given the scale of financial issues involved. Our objective is to engage and attempt to influence the club so that action is taken to mitigate the concerns of our members and act upon their ideas and suggestions where the governance and commercial performance of the club could be improved. All our ideas and energies are focused on this and we have never had a discussion (beyond how to write this FAQ!) about trying to own or buy shares in the club. It is worth pointing out that in the interests of transparency that the Trust is a members-based organisation and if members were to elect a board who thought fan ownership of Sheffield Wednesday was a good idea then the strategy of the Trust would inevitably change from the position articulated above.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Hookowl said:

 

Yes I see what you mean, I was more thinking on the lines it would put a potential buyer off if there was a 6 month delay, as I initially thought that was the time given to decide whether to bid.

There is no need for a moratorium period at all if the ground is sold as a going concern. From our Q&A:

 

Furthermore, as discussed above, it is specifically stated in the regulations that if the disposal is of a building or piece of land on which a going-concern business is operated, provided that the sale is to a new owner whose intention is to continue the same business, then the moratorium period is not initiated. For example, if an owner of a football ground with an ACV wants to sell it as part of a deal including the football club to a new owner, who will continue to operate Hillsborough as a football ground, then the moratorium will not apply. Consequently, the ACV is not a barrier to the sale / new investment into Sheffield Wednesday football club.

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12 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said:

There is no need for a moratorium period at all if the ground is sold as a going concern. From our Q&A:

 

Furthermore, as discussed above, it is specifically stated in the regulations that if the disposal is of a building or piece of land on which a going-concern business is operated, provided that the sale is to a new owner whose intention is to continue the same business, then the moratorium period is not initiated. For example, if an owner of a football ground with an ACV wants to sell it as part of a deal including the football club to a new owner, who will continue to operate Hillsborough as a football ground, then the moratorium will not apply. Consequently, the ACV is not a barrier to the sale / new investment into Sheffield Wednesday football club.

 

 

That seems fair enough.

 

Just like to ask what the thinking behind it is though, for example, is it an attempt to try and stop the ground being sold to a 3rd party?

 

Just curious to know why the trust thinks it's necessary?

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14 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said:

There is no need for a moratorium period at all if the ground is sold as a going concern. From our Q&A:

 

Furthermore, as discussed above, it is specifically stated in the regulations that if the disposal is of a building or piece of land on which a going-concern business is operated, provided that the sale is to a new owner whose intention is to continue the same business, then the moratorium period is not initiated. For example, if an owner of a football ground with an ACV wants to sell it as part of a deal including the football club to a new owner, who will continue to operate Hillsborough as a football ground, then the moratorium will not apply. Consequently, the ACV is not a barrier to the sale / new investment into Sheffield Wednesday football club.

 

It's to be hoped any prospective buyer knows this, I didn't find it listed in the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012,  

SCHEDULE 3 Relevant disposals to which section 95(1) of the Act does not apply.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong just that this information seems hard to find which could put potential buyers off.

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1 hour ago, Geedee said:

 

Ok , in total our football club is big business in the tens of millions of pounds  even if with the current the cash flow the club is struggling to pay relativity small sums and certainly the stadium is worth in the tens of millions of pounds.

 

Of course  the trust can arrange when allowed to meet in a pub in and talk about it. Or they have a Zoom meeting probably using the free account option but what is the point?

 

Please understand me there is  nothing wrong with a group of fans trying to improve the lot of people who support the club but stick to to what can be achieved.

 

Charity Events, Free tickets for kids, helping out running owls in the park etc.

 

There are many Supporters' Trusts who have achieved ACV status for their clubs' stadiums. We believe it can be achieved at Hillsborough also. 

 

Community events and improved ticketing are also part of our aims. 

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11 minutes ago, Hookowl said:

 

It's to be hoped any prospective buyer knows this, I didn't find it listed in the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012,  

SCHEDULE 3 Relevant disposals to which section 95(1) of the Act does not apply.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong just that this information seems hard to find which could put potential buyers off.

It'll be tomorrow now, but I'll check with the person who put the Q&A together and come back to you. 

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7 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said:

 

There are many Supporters' Trusts who have achieved ACV status for their clubs' stadiums. We believe it can be achieved at Hillsborough also. 

What has been achieved by doing this?

7 minutes ago, SWFC Trust said:

 

Community events and improved ticketing are also part of our aims. 

Good , this is where you can make a real difference

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13 minutes ago, Geedee said:

What has been achieved by doing this?

Good , this is where you can make a real difference

Depends what you mean by achieved I guess. Charlton is a good example of the positivity that ACV status can generate.

 

https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5c66878523f57/acv-renewal-for-the-valley

 

And, yes hopefully we can make a difference in other areas as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So if DC finds a buyer who wants to pay the asking price and invest 100s of millions of pounds. Could the community object and stall the deal just because of any reason they want? PS quite like the block to stop anything dodgy, however how would a local interest group get the money.

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