The Win-Win of Community Asset Transfers

Through support and guidance from the council, community groups have welcomed the opportunity to manage facilities, ensuring their future at the heart of local areas. Additionally, the CAT process has led to external funding being secured for the assets that would not have been achievable if retained by the council.

While a win-win situation, the rapid pace of change required both the community groups and the council to adapt quickly, making the learning process an ongoing experience for all parties involved.

The challenge

Woking Borough Council had to implement major budget reductions when faced with extraordinary debt and the need to deliver an ambitious improvement plan following the Section 114 Notice. The scale of service changes was unprecedented, necessitating a new relationship with residents as service provision either ceased, reduced or was redesigned.

Discretionary services were particularly affected, yet they remained important to both residents and the council in supporting the wider community. One significant example was the network of community centres and sports pavilions owned and funded by the council. Rather than opting for the straightforward route of closing or selling these assets, the council recognised early in the savings programme the potential value of community asset transfers (CATs).

The solution

CATs are not new; they have been used by councils for a number of years to transfer the management and responsibility of facilities to community organisations. However, this was a new approach for the council, and the first step was to create a CAT policy with input from services and the community.

As part of its package of support to Working Borough Council, the Local Government Association (LGA) funded Local Partnerships to assist in developing the strategy and guiding its implementation. Getting the strategy right was crucial as it formed the foundation for the process, established the criteria for transfer, defined the agreement between parties, and set the general terms of the lease. It also provided clear guidance to communities and, as a published document, ensured transparency in expectations for all parties.

The strategy was approved by Full Council in February 2024 – and whilst communication with groups had already started, the approval was the trigger for the community groups to prepare their expressions of interest.

Given budgetary pressures, the council needed to act swiftly, and the two phases of “discovery” and “expression of interest” (EOI) merged which accelerated the process. However, the discovery phase was intended to gather all necessary information before involving the community. Without complete information, community groups sometimes felt they were preparing their expressions of interest without the full picture. The scale of transfers was also significant. While councils typically manage one or two CATs at a time, Woking Borough Council simultaneously handled five community centres and 13 sports pavilions (serving multiple users).

To facilitate the process the council:

• Deployed an experienced project manager, to keep the programme on track and liaise with the senior management and members
• Appointed a dedicated community broker, who played a crucial role in guiding groups and connecting with services
• Engaged cross-departmental resources, including officers from property, leisure and communities, legal, finance and communications teams
• Ensured that the process was transparent and open, through the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees
• Continued involvement from Local Partnerships providing advice and guidance supported by LGA as part of this second phase of work.

A panel of officers assessed EOIs and business cases against key criteria in relation to long-term sustainability and financial viability; wider community benefit and inclusivity; avoiding duplication of existing services; supporting growth in the voluntary sector including the group’s own ambitions; and demonstrating local demand.

The most successful applications came from groups with ambitious but realistic plans, strong local support, robust governance structures and which took-on the advice from the evaluation sessions via the community broker.

As well as support from the LGA, the council received investment from UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) used to pay for set-up costs including the community broker.  

The impact (including cost savings/income generated if applicable):

The projected total savings from the CATs are estimated at £2.1m for community centres and just short of £1m for pavilions over the next 3 years if all assets are transferred.

The council will maintain some oversight as the CATs represent an on-going interest.  The oversight is via quarterly monitoring, managing change requests and a process to address any groups underperforming against the business case and KPIs.   However, the operation and control of the facilities is firmly with the community groups.

This is where there has been significant impact – through community empowerment. The groups have been able to realise their ambitions, strengthened their governance, and enhanced their role in serving the wider community. The control in running these assets has energised the groups and fostered local pride.

A notable outcome is the additional investment resulting from the council’s decision to use CATs. The Football Foundation is investing £250k in four football clubs running a transferred pavilion as part of their Home Advantage Programme.  The programme aims to support the maintenance of grass pitches and local clubs – in the long term creating elite players of the future, as well as ensuring football is a catalyst for healthier and socially active communities. The council also receives £25k a year to support implementation of the programme.

How is the new approach being sustained?

The Football Foundation will provide useful investment to ensure pitches are match ready along with renovated facilities offering an opportunity to generate income to support financial security. This is combined with the energy and time investment by club members which supports long term viability.

Demonstrating sustainability was a priority for the council and part of the criteria to award a CAT. For the council, this means the facilities being financially independent while still continuing to provide a host of benefits including social networks, health and wellbeing activities, skills and training, information and advice. Collectively, this supports the council’s objective of working in partnership with all communities to deliver positive outcomes.

The strategic and operational advice was provided by Natalia Silver of Local Partnerships. This has supported the portfolio holders (Councillor Ellen Nicholson and Councillor Steve Greentree), officers working on the CATs and the wider council to establish a wealth of knowledge; and through processing so many CATs the teams involved have developed expertise of their own.

There is opportunity to maximise the learning from different perspectives including those of portfolio holders and community groups. The learning can be communicated with other councils and is of value as Surrey enters a period of local government reorganisation, as well as across the wider local government network.

Lessons learned

1.    Strong policy foundation: A well-defined CAT policy provided clarity, transparency, and consistency.

2.    Investing in a community broker: This role was instrumental in guiding groups, liaising with stakeholders, and ensuring smooth coordination across departments.

3.    Support through project management: Major co-ordination was needed with so many parties involved, and project management ensured the pace was maintained.

4.    Efficient panel process: The assessment process was modelled on procurement evaluation, and therefore familiar to the panel in providing a structured and balanced approach. The panel included colleagues from finance, legal, estates and community services.

5.    Utility costs complexity: Joint facilities and combined budgets presented challenges in determining cost allocations; these sometimes needed to be revised through updated information which could be frustrating, but being transparent with the groups helped address this.

6.    Pavilion and pitch dilemma: There was a particular issue with pitches attached to pavilions (used by multiple clubs),and whether these should be part of the transfer. Community groups needed pitch-related income but struggled with maintenance costs. A compromise was reached where the council maintained pitches while revenue was shared.

7.    User conflict: In some instances, there was a clash of groups based on historic dual-use sites or multiple applicants for a single CAT.  The council could be caught in the middle, though the groups would often work through their differences to have one key bidder; when there was more than one application the evaluation scoring system helped determine the most appropriate group.

8.    Legal resources: Whilst there was a set of terms and conditions for the lease each transfer has bespoke requirements.  This took time and resources to create and then the community group needed their own legal advice.

9.    Balance of ambition and risk: Some great ideas came forward, but the panel needed to be confident of delivery and sustainability.  Therefore, evidence was required of community need and feasibility, where sometimes those ideas didn’t quite stack-up.  Where this was the case the council tried to look at different solutions and different sites for the group to pursue.

10.    Data and KPIs: the council requested groups to provide data to back-up their statements regarding evidence of need as well as to supply key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to measure success. Whilst councils are well used to these approaches, it was not so familiar to community groups. The council therefore needed to work with groups on the theory and practice of measuring impacts.

Conclusion

Despite challenges, Woking Borough Council’s ambitious CAT programme has proven to be a valuable and forward-thinking initiative. By putting in place clear policy frameworks, strategically investing in key roles, and fostering strong collaboration across departments, the council has not only empowered local communities to take greater ownership of valued assets, but also achieved financial savings in the process.

The experiences and insights gained through the implementation of this programme provide a foundation of learning that will inform and improve future CAT initiatives within the borough. More broadly, Woking’s approach offers a practical model for other local authorities facing similar competing demands of budget pressures and maintaining services. As councils across the country look to become more resilient and community-led, the lessons from Woking’s journey stand as a testament to what can be achieved through innovation, partnership, and a commitment to long-term impact.

Contact: Natalia Silver, Local Partnerships [email protected] 

Community asset transfers | Woking Borough Council