Nominating Assets of Community Value

To nominate a property as an asset of community value (ACV), the request must come from a 'voluntary or community body' with a 'local connection' (see definitions below) to Eastbourne or the Lewes district and relate to land in that area or in the neighbouring local authority's area.

What is a voluntary or community body?

To be a 'voluntary or community body', the group must be one of the following:

an unincorporated group of 21 or more people that does not distribute any surplus it makes to its members
a charity
a company limited by guarantee that does not distribute profits amongst its members
a co-operative or community benefit society that does not distribute profits amongst its members
a community interest company
a neighbourhood forum designated as such by the local planning authority
a parish council

What does a local connection mean?

To check if they have a 'local connection' to Eastbourne or the Lewes district, groups should consult regulation 4 of the Assets of Community Value Regulations 2012.

Nomination form and guidance

The ACV nomination form and guidance notes are available for download below. To complete the form, an eligible group will need to provide:

a description of the nominated building or land including its proposed boundaries
a statement of all the information which the nominator has with regard to names of the current occupants of the land and the names and current or last known addresses of all those holding a freehold or leasehold stake in the land
the nominator's reasons for thinking that the asset is of community value
evidence that the nominator is eligible to make a community nomination

Downloads

Assets of Community Value nomination form (PDF, 157 KB)

Assets of Community Value nomination form (Word doc, 40 KB)

Guidance notes for nominating an Asset of Community Value (PDF, 267 KB)

Completed forms should be emailed to property@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk with any supporting information attached or by post to Property and Asset Management Team, Lewes District Council, 6 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2AD.

Nomination decisions

Once we receive the form, we will determine the nomination within eight weeks and, if the nomination is successful, communicate the outcome to:

the property owner
the occupier (if the occupier is not also the owner)
a parish council if any of the land is in the parish council's area
the nominating body

If the nomination is successful and we add the property to our list of ACVs, there is an eight week period during which the owner can request a review of the decision. If the review upholds the original decision to list the property, the owner has a right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal.

If the nomination is unsuccessful, we will inform the nominating group and give reasons for our decision.

If listed, the asset will remain on the list for a maximum of five years, at which point it can be re-nominated. Other events, such as the asset being sold following the necessary moratorium period, can cause the asset to be removed from the ACV list before the 5-year time limit is reached.

Some assets may not be listed. Common examples are as follows:

residential property, including gardens, outbuildings and other associated land owned by a single owner (unless the residence is a building that is only partly used as a residence and, but for that residential use of the building, the land would be eligible for listing, for example accommodation as part of a pub or a caretaker's flat)
operational land of 'statutory undertakers', which covers mainly transport infrastructure such as ports, railways and roads
certain types of caravan site

For a full list of property types ineligible for nomination as an ACV, see Schedule 1 to the Assets of Community Value Regulations 2012.