Communities Across England Win Right to Buy Their Local Pubs, Shops and Libraries
Community groups across England have been handed a powerful new tool to save their local pubs, shops, libraries, and community centres, after the Community Right to Buy became law with the Royal Assent of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act — a landmark piece of legislation that gives communities first refusal when valued local assets are put up for sale.
Background
The loss of community assets — the village pub, the local library, the community centre, the corner shop — has been one of the defining social trends of the past two decades in England. Driven by rising property values, changing retail patterns, and the withdrawal of public funding from community facilities, thousands of spaces that once served as the social infrastructure of local life have been sold to developers, converted to residential use, or simply closed. The communities that lose them rarely get them back.
The previous "Right to Bid" scheme, introduced in 2011, gave communities the ability to register an asset of community value and trigger a six-month moratorium on its sale — but not the right to actually purchase it. The scheme was widely regarded as inadequate: communities had to raise funds within a tight window, often without the legal or financial expertise to compete with professional developers, and the result was that only about 2% of registered assets ever transferred to community ownership. The new Community Right to Buy is a fundamentally different proposition.
The legislation has been championed by community ownership advocates who point to successful examples — Bramley Baths in Leeds, saved and revitalised by a community group; Stretford Public Hall in Trafford, transformed into a thriving community hub — as evidence of what is possible when communities are given genuine tools and time to act. The new law extends the window for communities to secure funding from six months to twelve months and broadens the definition of what constitutes a community asset.
Key Developments
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act received Royal Assent in 2026, bringing the Community Right to Buy into law. The new right grants communities first refusal when a valued local asset is put up for sale, with a twelve-month window to secure funding — double the previous six-month period. The definition of "asset of community value" has been expanded: the previous requirement that a building must have been used for community benefit within the last five years has been lifted, and the definition now includes assets that contribute to economic as well as social well-being, along with a new sporting category.
BBC News reported the development as a significant step forward for community ownership, noting that the new law could enable groups to run libraries, save pubs, and create spaces for people to gather. LabourList published analysis arguing that the government must go further — providing dedicated funding and support to ensure the right is usable by all communities, not just the best-resourced ones. The Community Ownership Fund, which supported hundreds of projects before closing in 2025, has not been replaced, leaving a potential gap in financial backing.
Why It Matters
The Community Right to Buy matters because it addresses a fundamental imbalance in the property market: the fact that communities have historically had no legal mechanism to compete with developers when a valued local asset comes up for sale. The new law does not guarantee that communities will always succeed — they still need to raise funds, develop business plans, and navigate planning processes — but it gives them the time and the legal standing to try.
The broader context is one of accelerating community asset loss. The pub closure crisis — with 161 venues shutting in the first quarter of 2026 alone — has made the Community Right to Buy particularly timely. A community group that wants to save its local pub now has a legal right to be given the opportunity to do so, rather than watching it be sold to a developer before they can organise. This mirrors what Scotland has had since 2003 with its Community Right to Buy legislation, which has enabled dozens of communities to take ownership of land and buildings that would otherwise have been lost.
Local Impact
The Community Right to Buy applies to England only, but its passage will be watched closely in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where similar debates about community asset ownership are ongoing. In Scotland, the existing community right to buy has been used to transfer ownership of islands, estates, and community buildings to local groups. In Northern Ireland, where community and voluntary sector organisations play a significant role in service delivery, the question of asset ownership is particularly live. In the Republic of Ireland, where community development has a strong tradition, the English legislation may inform future policy discussions.
What's Next
The Community Right to Buy is now law, but its implementation will depend on the guidance and support provided to community groups seeking to use it. The government is expected to publish detailed guidance in the coming months. Community ownership advocates are calling for the establishment of a new Community Ownership Fund to replace the one that closed in 2025, arguing that rights on paper are meaningless without the financial resources to exercise them. The first test cases under the new law are expected to emerge later in 2026.
Sources: BBC News, LabourList
