Appendix 1 - Community Empowerment Annual Report 2024-25
Perth and Kinross Council · 11 June 2025
Back to Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee — 11 June 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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APPENDIX 1 COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ANNUAL REPORT 2024/205 1. Structure Of Report 1.1 This report is structured over the following sections: Section 2: Participation Requests Section 3: Community Asset Transfer Section 4: Our Approach Section 5: Promotion Section 6: Progress Made Over 24/25 and Improvement Actions for 25/26 Section 7: Conclusion 2. Participation Requests 2.1 In the year 2024/25 PKC received two Participation requests. 2.2 A participation request from Comrie Community Council was accepted with the intended outcome that CCC, PKC, and CPK can work together to explore opportunities for sustainable library provision in the rural area. 2.3 A participation request from Crieff Community Council was refused, however, PKC have committed to exploring their outcome in partnership at a later date. The community in Crieff would like to explore options for the future development on the former Drummond Arms Hotel site. 2.4 The recent Scottish Government Review into Participation Requests has highlighted that more work is done nationally to highlight when Participation Requests should be used and provide a better understanding on the Outcome Improvement Process. PKC officer will continue to attend meetings and respond to consultations on this matter and keep others in PKC informed of any changes and updates.
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3. Community Asset Transfer 3.1 The following table gives an overview of the number of community groups who have approached PKC to enquire about purchase, lease, or management of an asset. Examples of some of these groups are detailed in the summary report. Number Groups approaching the Council about an asset in 2024/25 34 Groups who have withdrawn before an Expression of Interest submitted 7 Expressions of Interest received 7 Groups who have withdrawn after an Expression of Interest submitted 4 Number of live cases 16 Groups who reached an alternative outcome 7 CAT Requests received 0 CAT Requests agreed to 0 CAT Requests refused 0 CAT Requests withdrawn 0 CAT decisions appealed 0 CAT decisions appealed successfully 0 3.2 Groups who have reached an alternative outcome typically discuss options with the Community Empowerment Officer and are then introduced to our Estates team who can co-ordinate a lease or negotiated sale. Not included in these figures are groups who are referred to Estates through other Services. An overview of some of the work co-ordinated by Estates was provided in the summary report. 4. Our Approach 4.1 The Council is committed to working with community organisations to explore the options for community ownership which are open to them. Groups will initially meet with the Community Empowerment Officer who will discuss which routes, support and funding streams may help them achieve their goal of community ownership. If CAT is considered an option the Community Empowerment Officer can explain this route to the group, as well as providing the group with the PKC CAT Toolkit and Toolkit Workbook. Groups will also be introduced to the Perth and Kinross advisor from the Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) which is part of the Development Trust Association Scotland. This service works closely with Local Authorities and with community groups to support the CAT process. We have held joint information evenings where communities have been able to learn from PKC and COSS about the process. Groups are also introduced to representatives from key funders, such as the Scottish Land Fund.
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4.2 We take a customer-centred approach to CAT Requests. Community groups are allocated a dedicated officer to act as a single point of contact and coordinate with staff across the Council to find the relevant information before feeding back. Groups are supported by the Community Empowerment Officer to prepare the various documents and pieces of work needed to form a CAT application. Throughout this process the Community Empowerment Officer keeps other relevant officers updated including the CAT Team (including representatives from CLD, Estates, Property, Legal, and Finance), and via the Corporate Property Asset Management Group. Any feedback from these forums is provided to the group before they are encouraged to submit a formal CAT application. During this process officers can often support groups with alternative solutions and therefore not all groups will proceed to full CAT application. A full description of the PKC CAT approach can be found on our webpage at https://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/19819/Community-Asset-Transfer 5. Promotion 5.1 Both CAT and Participation Requests are promoted to the public via dedicated web pages. Each page contains all the information a group would need to undertake either process, with an animated via example of a hypothetical example of both CAT and a Participation Request. 5.2 As part of a proactive approach to make communities aware of Community Asset Transfer the Community Empowerment Officer has met with communities where assets which are being considered for closure by PKC and its ALEOs. Meetings have taken place regarding Live Active Leisure (LAL) venues including Tulloch Community Centre in Perth, Aytoun Hall in Auchterarder, and Scone Public Hall. There has been little community interest in pursuing CAT whilst LAL management is still seen as an option at these sites. A group has formed around Dunning Town Hall and it is expected that they will submit a request for lease by the end of the year. Groups taking ownership of such large-scale buildings requires considerable capacity building work and funding for communities to make these successful and sustainable. 5.3 Following an invitation from Culture Perth and Kinross (CPK) to attend community meetings on the future of libraries, in January and February the Community Empowerment Officer attended meetings at four libraries to advertise the support available in relation to the Community Empowerment Act. These were held at the CPK libraries in Auchterarder, Scone, and Alyth to discuss CAT and Comrie to highlight Community Right to Buy. In March, an information evening was held in partnership with CPK and the Community Ownership Support Service covering community ownership of library services. Again, there was little interest in community-led solutions with community preference being for CPK services to continue.
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6. Progress Made Over 24/25 And Improvement Actions For 25/26 Funding 6.1 A Meet the Funder event took place in November 2024 where groups were invited to come and speak with funders about their projects. This event was well attended by groups and funders and both reported that they found it useful. This is an event which can be repeated in future. 6.2 The Advancing Community Assets Fund was launched in February 2025 as a means of allocating PKC budget funding to groups to help them with their community ownership goals. To date three applications have been received and have been successful in securing funding towards costs associated with CAT, revenue costs, and small capital works. Other groups have indicated what they would like to apply to the fund for, and applications are expected to follow shortly. Training and Support 6.3 Discussion is currently underway with groups regarding the establishment of a Community Ownership Forum. This would provide a regular opportunity for learning, skills sharing, and collaboration. It is hoped that this additional learning opportunity for groups will support them to move their projects forward. 6.4 The Community Empowerment Officer is working with Community Learning and Development Workers to develop a standard initial training session which can be offered to interested community groups. 6.5 Officers are working towards updating PKCs internal e-learning module on Community Empowerment. 6.6 The Community Empowerment Officer attends the National Asset Transfer Action Group, where the work of PKC towards community ownership outwith the CAT process has been recognised. The recent Scottish Government Review on Community Asset Transfer has identified that this group should be refreshed and reconsider its remit. Additionally, the review has highlighted that more needs to be done to support smaller and/or more disadvantaged communities to make the most out of the Act. PKC officers will continue to be involved as the next stage of the review occurs and will share information and updates. Improvement Actions for 2025/26 6.7 The Council will continue to support community groups to explore opportunities in owning, leasing, or accessing Council assets. Reflecting on performance in 2024/25 and the potential to build on this in 2025/26, the following improvement actions have been identified:
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Identified Issue Action Lead Service Timescale More support and learning opportunities needed for groups to move projects forward at a steadier pace. Establishment of a Community Ownership Forum to provide a regular and collaborative opportunity for support. Establishment of new resources to support groups with new topics such as feasibility studies and business planning. Creation of standard training for groups which can be offered by the Community Learning and Development Team Community Learning and Development Team June 2025 Communication around CAT and what is happening The new CLD Newsletter will contain a section on Community Ownership which can provide an update to interested parties on a regular basis. Community Learning and Development Team October 2025 Knowledge of the Community Empowerment Act across Council Services. Particularly in relation to Participation Requests Development of E-learning on Participation Requests and Community Ownership. Community Learning and Development Team December 2025 7. Conclusion 7.1 The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires the Council to produce an Annual Report, setting out the work done to promote and respond to Community Asset Transfer Requests and Participation Requests. In 2024/25, seven Expressions of Interest were received for Community Asset Transfer, and two Participation Requests were received.