Which legal power could save my local building?

Image: Make Hamilton, Birkenhead, Wirral (credit Make CIC)

You’ve got an amazing idea to bring a vacant property in your neighbourhood back to life.

Maybe it’s a cherished but now-lost community hub. Or an empty retail space that could be filled with the activities and services your neighbours need.

It isn’t listed for sale or rent, so you want to know how your organisation can move in.

Meanwhile, your community is watching it fall into disrepair, while similar buildings have quietly sold on the private market in the past – lost to expensive developments and uses that don’t benefit the local community or economy.

There are various routes you can try to explore with your local authority to unlock the space — whether they or a private landlord owns it.

You might have heard of legal powers like High Street Rental Auctions, Community Right to Buy, Compulsory Purchase Orders – or mechanisms like Community Asset Transfers and Meanwhile Use.

But what exactly are these? Can you use them for this building?