Local and national leaders urge Chancellor to drive growth that communities in all parts of the country can see and feel.
Today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP is delivering a pivotal speech on economic growth. Power to Change has joined forces with local and national leaders to call for tangible support that can truly be felt by communities. The group commends the government for introducing a Community Right to Buy which will give people real power to take on buildings or spaces in their local area, for community use. But to exercise the new powers, funding and support needs to sit alongside.
January 2025
The Rt Hon. Rachel Reeves MP
His Majesty’s Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
SW1A 2HQ
Ref: Community ownership funding can drive growth that is seen and felt in all places.
Dear Chancellor,
It has been encouraging for all of us to see the work of change begin over the last six months. With the English Devolution White Paper published, and the English Devolution Bill coming soon, the Government is making good progress towards putting real power to drive growth people can see and feel in the hands of communities across England.
In particular, we are delighted that the Government is planning to introduce a Community Right to Buy for community assets as part of the Bill. This will give communities the power to champion the places and spaces that they care about, with the economic, social and environmental benefits we know this brings.
We know that people see change through a local lens, and a Community Right to Buy will give real power to the people who care about filling space on the high street, reviving vibrant hubs of community like pubs and cafés, and opening up green space and land we can all enjoy. It will be an important tool for communities throughout our cities, towns, and villages, to build places they can feel pride in and where the benefits of growth can be seen and felt locally.
But we know that when new powers are introduced, funding and support needs to sit alongside them for people in all parts of the country – particularly the most disadvantaged – to exercise them to the full. Previous governments were misguided when they introduced new powers without appropriate funding; let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past.
The Government needs to introduce a new tranche of ambitious community ownership funding to sit alongside the Community Right to Buy. For this spending review period £150m of public funding should be made available to crowd in other forms of funding and finance like social and impact investment. The Government can turbocharge community ownership without breaking the bank. Over 10 years, this should mean £300m of public funding leveraging £700m from other forms of finance.
Alongside this, government should champion levers like community shares to give local people a real stake in ownership. Community ownership funding should also be expanded so that it applies to a broader range of assets, not just those ‘at risk’.
Funding community ownership at this level would be a signal of intent from the Government and tie together commitments to both empower communities and create economic change that is seen and felt by people in their everyday lives, making a visible impact in this parliament. Crucially, this can give more economically disadvantaged areas an asset base to build local wealth, so all places can contribute to economic prosperity.
All of us working with communities at the national and local level and backing them in Westminster look forward to working with you to put power and control back in community hands to make the Community Right to Buy a success. To do this, community ownership funding and support is vital. Get behind us, and we can make a change that’s seen and felt in all parts of the country.
Kind regards,
Tim Davies-Pugh, Chief Executive, Power to Change
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive, Locality
James Alcock, Chief Executive, Plunkett UK
Rose Marley, Chief Executive, Co-operatives UK
Tom Chance, Chief Executive, Community Land Trust Network
Guy Shrubsole, Author and Campaigner
Afzal Hussain, Witton Lodge Community Association
Phil Tulba, Associate Director, The Ubele Initiative
Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Southport
Barry Quirk, former Chief Executive of Lewisham Council and author of the Quirk Review
Pete Maguire, Managing Director, Sporting Assets
Bethan Webber, CEO, CWMPAS
Helen Hart, CEO, Barca-Leeds
Lee Ingham, CEO, Bramley Elderly Action
David Wilford, CEO, Bramley Baths
Seb Elsworth, CEO, Access
Nick Temple, Chief Executive, Social Investment Business
Matt Smith, CEO, Key Fund
Anna Shiel, Chief Investment Officer, Better Society Capital
Daniel Brewer, Chief Executive, Resonance
Mark Walton, Director, Shared Assets
Kunle Olulode, Director, Voice4Change England
John Hume, Chief Executive, People’s Health Trust
Matthew McKeague, Chief Executive, Architectural Heritage Fund
Veda Harrison, Director – Creative Confident Communities, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Rich Bell, Director, We’re Right Here
Deana Bamford, Coalville CAN and THINK FC
Neelam Heera-Shergill, Cysters
Sacha Bedding, The Wharton Trust
Inayat Omarji, All Souls Bolton
Claude Hendrickson, Leeds Community Homes
Annoushka Deighton, Stretford Public Hall
Charlotte Hollins, Fordhall Farm
Tam Preboye, co-founder of Haki Collectives
Nicole Jameelah Shodunke, Transition Lighthouse Empowerment Space
Josiah Sulc, Rooted In
Layla Al-Abhar, Ladywood Unite
Jane Dawe, SAFE Regeneration
Maddy Pritchard, Vibrant Warsop CIC
Phil Frodsham, Transition New Mills
Leah Chikamba, Angels of Hope for Women
Notes to Editors
For comment or interviews please contact: press@powertochange.org.uk.
About Power to Change
Power to Change is the think-do tank that backs community business. We back community business from the ground up. We turn bold ideas into action so communities have the power to change what matters to them.
We know community business works to build stronger communities and better places to live. We’ve seen people create resilient and prosperous local economies when power is in community hands. We also know the barriers that stand in the way of their success.
We’re using our experience to bring partners together to do, test and learn what works. We’re shaping the conditions for community business to thrive.
Power to Change is an organisation with charitable status established in 2015 with a £150m endowment from The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF). We received a further £20m from TNLCF in 2021.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.
We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.