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Group could save Hyde Park school under Tories
Campaigners occupying a former Woodhouse primary school would be able to take over and reopen it for community use under radical plans drawn up by the Tories.
A future Conservative government would give residents new powers to take over the running of community assets threatened with closure including libraries, schools, swimming pools, playgrounds, parks and sports facilities.
Community groups would also be given "first refusal" to take over and manage – on a not-for-profit basis – local pubs, shops or post offices due to be closed and sold.
The 'Community Right to Buy' policy, announced on Thursday in a Party Political Broadcast, would resolve the row over the future of Royal Park Primary School in Woodhouse, which has stood empty since its closure five years ago.
Concerned at the Victorian building's rapidly deteriorating condition and lack of progress, a group of residents who want it saving for community use gained access and set about repairing it themselves.
Under the Tory plans, when a publicly-owned asset is being closed or sold off, local not-for-profit community groups such as schools, churches or voluntary groups – will have a "right of first refusal" to buy the asset at a "fair price".
They will be given a three- month window to put together a management plan and secure funding.
Local authorities can already transfer the ownership of assets to local people but the Tories would extend this to other public bodies, like the NHS.
The policy would also include a limited number of commercial assets, allowing community groups to take over the running of pubs, shops and post offices whose survival are of "genuine importance to the local community".
For example, if an owner was closing a pub in the hope that it can be converted into flats in the future, local people would have 28 days to register their own interest in the building.
They could then apply to their council to slap a compulsory purchase order on the pub and, once it has been acquired, purchase the leasehold off the council and reopen it as a 'community pub'.
Shadow communities and local government secretary Caroline Spelman said: "People feel powerless to stop their communities losing access to vital services and facilities.
"Conservatives will give bold new powers to local people to protect and improve their much-loved community assets and preserve the social fabric of their neighbourhoods."
Conservative officials have denied that their plan is mainly aimed at middle class areas or that it would provide the cover for cash-strapped councils to launch a firesale of assets.
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