City of Salford Conservatives

Under new Conservative plans, far-reaching new powers could be given to people in Salford to protect community assets from closure or demolition and take over the running of public buildings and community assets.

Matthew Sephton, Prospective Conservative MP for Salford & Eccles, has given his backing to the new ‘Community Right to Buy’ which would allow not-for-profit community groups across Salford to take over the running of struggling local facilities, from post offices to pubs to parks. Local landmarks like the Langworthy Hotel, threatened with demolition by Salford’s Labour Council, could be saved and reclaimed for community use under the proposals.

Under the Conservative proposals:

• Community groups, such as schools, churches or voluntary groups, will be able to bid to take over the running of publicly owned community assets, if they can manage them more efficiently and effectively than the state.
• When state-owned community asset faces closure or being sold, voluntary groups will have a right of first refusal to buy that asset for a fair price and maintain it for community use. The new rights to community ownership will cover assets owned by central government and quangos, not just town halls.
• The radical ‘Community Right to Buy’ will also allow community groups a first refusal to take over and run vital commercially-owned community assets when they shut down – for example, those post offices, pubs and shops whose continued survival is of genuine importance to the local community.

Matthew said: 

“Under Labour, local neighbourhoods in Salford and across the country have lost too many essential local services and facilities. Gordon Brown’s Government has closed post offices across Salford and driven local pubs into the ground. People feel powerless to stop their communities losing access to vital services and facilities. I’m delighted that a future Conservative Government would give local residents the power to save local buildings like the Langworthy Hotel and closure-threatened Post Offices”