Closed consultation

Right to Regenerate: reform of the Right to Contest

Updated 12 March 2021

Applies to England

1. Scope of the consultation

Topic of this consultation: This consultation paper sets out a number of questions relating to the effectiveness of Strand 2 (land owned by a local authority or certain other public bodies) of the Right to Contest under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 operated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Scope of this consultation: We are keen to hear the views of all parties with an interest in the proposed changes, so that relevant views and evidence can be taken into account in deciding the way forward.

Geographical scope: The questions and potential reforms raised in this consultation paper apply to England only.

Impact Assessment: No impact assessment has been produced for this consultation, as policy development is at an early stage. An impact assessment will be produced to accompany future policy proposals if relevant.

Basic information

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Duration: This consultation closes on 20 March 2021.

Enquiries: For any enquiries about the consultation please email: righttocontestconsultation@communities.gov.uk

How to respond

You may respond by completing an online survey

Alternatively you can email your response to the questions in this consultation to: righttocontestconsultation@communities.gov.uk

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which questions you are responding to.

When you reply it would be very useful if you confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

• your name
• your position (if applicable)
• the name of organisation (if applicable)
• an address (including post code)
• an email address
• a contact telephone number
• whether you have ever submitted a Right to Contest application

2. Introduction

1. Longstanding vacant, derelict or underutilised public sector land can have a significant impact on the attractiveness of a local area, acting as a focus for anti-social behaviour. Since 1980, the public has been able to request that the government considers whether certain publicly owned land is unused or underused, and if so directs that it be sold.

2. In 2011, this power was incorporated into the portfolio of Community Rights as the Community Right to Reclaim Land, and extended to apply to land owned by the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, and the British Transport Police.

3. In 2014, the power was brought together with policy on the release of central government land as the Right to Contest, to make it simpler for the public to request the disposal of public land. Strand 1 of the Right to Contest applies to central government land, and is administered by the Cabinet Office; Strand 2, the powers originally created under the 1980 Act, is today administered and exercised by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

4. The government wants to empower people to challenge the inefficient use of public sector land in their communities, and to bring it into better economic use, including to provide new homes. The government is consulting on the effectiveness of these requests as it considers reforms to make the process more efficient and more transparent.

5. The government believes that reforming the Right to Contest and relaunching it as a new ‘Right to Regenerate’ could provide a quicker and easier route for individuals, businesses and organisations to identify, purchase and redevelop underused or empty land in their area. In turn, a strengthened right would support greater regeneration of brownfield land, boost housing supply and empower people to turn blights and empty spaces in their areas into more beautiful developments.

6. Following the consultation, the government will consider the feedback as it determines whether to bring forward reforms to the right in order to encourage the public to drive regeneration and stimulate the more productive use of public land.

3. Background

7. The Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 empowers the Secretary of State to direct a body within a specific list of bodies, set out in Schedule 16 to that Act, to take steps to dispose of their interest in that land where that land is not being used or not being sufficiently used.

8. This power now operates as part of the policy known as the Community Right to Contest, which has two strands. Strand 1 covers central government bodies on a voluntary, non-statutory basis, and is administered by the Cabinet Office. Strand 2 covers those public bodies set out in Schedule 16 of the 1980 Act, and is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This consultation relates only to Strand 2.

9. Since 2014, 192 requests have been submitted under Strand 2. Of these, 145 were refused, 10 withdrawn, 9 are still pending, 27 were not a valid request and one direction to order disposal was issued.

10. Strand 2 of the Right to Contest was designed to be an intervention last resort, enabling someone to ask Ministers to order a listed public body to dispose of land, including any property on that land, if they think the land is unused or under-used, and the public body has either refused to do so or not engaged. Most requests come from members of the public rather than community groups or companies and relate to small plots of land. At present, the right is promoted on GOV.UK and some local authority websites.

11. Refusals arise largely because the public body has a use/intended use for the land or it is allocated in the Local Plan.

12. The government is consulting on whether reforms to the right could lead to it being utilised more effectively and more widely.

4. Consultation questions

Increasing the usefulness and effectiveness of the right

13. The government seeks views on the usefulness of the right, as well as potential reforms to increase effectiveness. Respondents should consider how the right is used by private individuals as well as organisations. The government is particularly interested in responses from anyone who has previously submitted a request under the Right to Contest.

Q1: Do you consider the Right to Contest useful?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

Q2: Do you think there are any current barriers to using the right effectively, and if so, how would you suggest they be overcome?
Yes/No – please provide details.

Making it clearer when land is unused or underused

14. The government is considering publishing a definition of land that is unused or underused, to help guide people in making applications.

Q3: Would a definition of unused or underused land be useful, and, if so, what should such a definition include?

Yes/No – please provide details.

Extending the scope of the right

15. The government is also interested in views as to whether extending the right to include unused and underused land owned by town and parish councils would increase the effectiveness of the right in optimising land usage across England.

Q4: Should the right be extended to include unused and underused land owned by town and parish councils?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

Land where a public body has an intended use

16. Many requests are refused as the public body indicates that it has an intended use for the land. This may mean some sites are left unused or underused for some time until those plans materialise.

17. The government is considering incentivising temporary uses by ordering sales where temporary uses cannot be identified. This would help minimise blight until sites are put to better long-term use and help to keep neighbourhoods vibrant and productive especially in town centres and urban areas.

Q5: Should the government incentivise temporary use of unused land which has plans for longer term future use?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

A greater role for local authorities

18. The Right to Contest was designed to be a last resort where listed public bodies have refused to engage with, or refused, a request to bring unused land into use. The government is inviting views as to whether it should require applicants making a request under the right regarding local-authority-owned land to demonstrate that they have contacted their local authority before making a request. The purpose would be for the applicant to find out more about the land from informal discussions or correspondence with the local authority, without needing to submit a formal request, and to allow requests submitted under the right to progress more swiftly, as local authorities should be prepared to respond.

Q6: Should the government introduce a requirement for local authorities to be contacted before a request is made?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer.

Presumption in favour of disposal

19. The government welcomes views on whether the Secretary of State should apply a presumption in favour of disposal when considering applications under the right, establishing clearly that disposals will be ordered unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.

Q7: Should the government introduce a presumption in favour of disposal of land or empty homes/garages where requests are made under the right?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer

Publicity and reporting

20. To improve transparency around these requests and assist with record-keeping, the government is considering placing requirements on local authorities such as:

• quarterly reports by a designed local authority officer on the number of preliminary enquiries made
• requiring the display of physical and electronic publicity where a request has been submitted for the release of a site
• requiring local authorities to publish all requests, together with their outcomes and reasoning, on their websites

Q8: Do you agree that the government should require these publicity measures where requests are made under the right?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer

Right of first refusal

21. Successful requests lead to the land being placed on the open market. This can act as a significant disincentive for those putting in a request, for example, for community groups who can find it difficult to raise finances quickly. The government is considering introducing a ‘right of first refusal’ to those who make the request recognising that they may need additional time to prepare a bid. This would usually be for market value and would be for a limited period of time. The right of first refusal would be imposed by the Secretary of State as a condition of disposal at his discretion. The government would welcome views as to the circumstances in which it should be employed.

Q9: Should government offer a ‘right of first refusal’ to the applicant as a condition of disposal?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer. Please also include what you believe would be a reasonable timeframe for the expiration of the right of refusal.

Conditions attached to disposals

22. The Secretary of State has the power to specify in the direction the terms and conditions for disposal of the land. To date this power has never been exercised. The government invites views on whether conditions ought to be imposed on the disposal of land (for example, that a sale could only be to someone with the intention to redevelop a site).

Q10: Should the government impose conditions on the disposal of land? And if so, what conditions would be appropriate?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer.

23. Thank you for completing this consultation, there is one final question:

Q11: Do you have any additional suggestions regarding reforms that could improve the effectiveness of the Right to Contest process?
Please explain your answer.

About this consultation

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal data, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), the General Data Protection Regulation, and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the Freedom of Information Act and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will process your personal data in accordance with the law and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included at Annex A.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Annex A: Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are be entitled to under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Note that this section only refers to your personal data (your name address and anything that could be used to identify you personally) not the content of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk.

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The Data Protection Act 2018 states that, as a government department, MHCLG may process personal data as necessary for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public interest. i.e. a consultation.

4. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation.

5. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data, we have about you
b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record
c. to ask to have all or some of your data deleted or corrected
d. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113

6. The data you provide directly will be stored by SmartSurvey on their servers in the United Kingdom. We have taken all necessary precautions to ensure that your rights in terms of data protection will not be compromised by this

7. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

8. We use a third-party provider (SmartSurvey) to gather data. Once the consultation has closed, data will be moved to our internal systems at a date following the consultation publication date

Annex B: Summary of the consultation questions

Q1: Do you consider the Right to Contest useful?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

Q2: Do you think there are any current barriers to using the right effectively, and if so, how would you suggest they be overcome?
Yes/No – please provide details.

Q3: Would a definition of unused or underused land be useful, and, if so, what should such a definition include?
Yes/No – please provide details.

Q4: Should the right be extended to include unused and underused land owned by town and parish councils?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

Q5: Should the government incentivise temporary use of unused land which has plans for longer term future use?
Yes/No – please provide a reason for your answer.

Q6: Should the government introduce a requirement for local authorities to be contacted before a request is made?
Yes/No - Please provide a reason for your answer.

Q7: Should the government introduce a presumption in favour of disposal of land or empty homes/garages where requests are made under the right?
Yes/No- Please provide a reason for your answer

Q8: Do you agree that the government should require these publicity measures where requests are made under the right?
Yes/No- Please provide a reason for your answer

Q9: Should government offer a ‘right of first refusal’ to the applicant as a condition of disposal?
Yes/No – Please provide a reason for your answer. Please also include what you believe would be a reasonable timeframe for the expiration of the right of refusal.

Q10: Should the government impose conditions on the disposal of land? And if so, what conditions would be appropriate?
Yes/No - Please provide a reason for your answer.

Q11: Do you have any additional suggestions regarding reforms that could improve the effectiveness of the Right to Contest process?
Please explain your answer.