We are proud to be uniting with our fellow community places and spaces to support ‘Roots of Resilience: Saving Community Spaces’, a city-wide campaign calling for urgent action to protect and enhance Bristol’s shared spaces which currently face a multitude of existential threats.
The campaign calls on the council to follow a scrutiny enquiry and adopt a positive stance towards asset transfers and community management.
Supported by sixteen community organisations, this initiative is a call to action for urgent measures to safeguard and improve Bristol’s shared spaces, which are currently under threat due to various challenges, including legislation facilitating council property sales to address budget shortfalls.
At a time of political change in our city, and when the financial status of councils nationwide is under scrutiny, the campaign highlights the need for the process underpinning decisions on council-owned buildings to reflect their importance as the connecting fabric of our communities.
The manifesto, compiled by leaders from organisations from across the city and representing the city’s diverse communities, calls for several changes to ensure community buildings are appropriately valued.
Details of the proposals can be found in the full Manifesto (below), but these focus on the following actions, around facilitating community-ownership and ensuring the perspectives of communities are heard during decision-making processes:
Review the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process, to enable more community organisations to consider this route.
Adopt a target and strategy for increasing the number of community owned assets, in line with the One City Plan.
Delegate leadership for community assets to a member of cabinet or committee, recognising the sector’s role across council departments.
Delegate authority to officer level to award CAT leases, for 95 years, when these are up for renewal.
Include representation from Neighbourhoods and Committees in the CAT decision-making committees.
Create a framework for protection and disposal of council owned assets, including creating a new ‘community’ asset class which prioritises preservation of community spaces.
Implement a fair rent structure which recognises the social and investment benefits of community-owned assets.
Develop a capital investment strategy for organisations with CAT leases.
Click below to download and read the full Manifesto: