How to Secure a Building: Tactics for Community Assets
So you’ve identified, or need, a building for your community-led business or project: that perfect space for your amazing idea that will bring local benefit.
There might be underutilised buildings near you, maybe some long empty. But it’s often not clear who owns them or how to get the owner to the table.
Now what?
First off, let’s manage expectations. It can be a very long, hard journey to secure a building – and you’re likely to come up against a good few ‘no’s’ before you get a ‘yes’. Read our interview with CEO of Hastings Commons, Dr Jess Steele, who shares some of the realities of this process.
But, local people in growing numbers are coming together to secure and activate buildings for long-term local benefit.
Read on for top tips and tactics to take the next step on your journey. These have been gathered from, and tried and tested by, the Platform Places network…
1. What makes for a good building?
If you haven’t yet identified your target building, what should you be looking for? Whether you want to unlock one building or transform your high street with 5, then 10, then more, the first building is critical. We call this the ‘catalyst’ — a strategically-chosen building that acts as a proof-of-concept. It will demonstrate the success of community use or ownership and catalyse more ideas and actions across your neighbourhood.
Safe Regeneration in Bootle started in 2000, when a group of young, disenfranchised artists were able to use a disused community building in the multicultural community of Toxteth, South Liverpool.
This helped the group to self-organise, gain experience and take on their next building (a dis-used school) in Bootle — which has become their base, and a cherished community hub. From there they've supported a range of other community development projects and now own and manage multiple spaces.
Illustration by Visual Thinkery
What to consider when choosing your building:
Size
Location (who are you serving, are you near where they live or where they spend time?)
Condition (if you’re looking for permanent use, you can bite the bullet on and raise the funds for remedial works unlike a 3-month meanwhile lease)
Features (do you need outdoor space, windows, ground floor access, a kitchen, parking, storage?)
What’s generally best for a ‘catalyst’ building?
Sufficient floorspace (200sqm+ = more viable if you are wanting to start a mixed use community hub)
Key location: corner buildings, good visibility and/or footfall, located near existing ‘anchors’ that drive footfall eg. supermarket, pharmacy
State of property and viability – you might not want to start with a Grade I* listed building for example!
Of community value, i.e. to be able to tell heritage/local stories (these make for good firepower for a campaign)
Be prepared for it not to be straightforward to find a permanent space straight away – it may be that you need to take the time to build up your connections, skills and reputation in a ‘meanwhile’ space to start with.
2. Who owns the asset? How to find out?
Enter detective mode. Sometimes the owner is local, easy to identify and happy to meet. But more often than not, you need to be relentless.
Ask around. Visit neighbours, going from door to door. Attend business networking groups in your area and talk to local tradespeople. Sometimes you need to find the local fountain of knowledge — that well-connected person who knows the streets like the back of their hand and who understands the tapestry of ownership.
You can also use mapping tools like LandInsight and EG Radius (note these platforms have comprehensive ownership data but expensive upfront subscription fees. It’s worth asking if your council or a local development organisation can take out a subscription on your behalf. Alternatively, you can view corporate or company owners for free on the HM Land Registry (and it’s £3 to view individual owners). The Planning Portal also provides information on buildings, owners, previous changes/activities - it can tell a whole story in itself!
💡 Tip: Platform Places offers asset and ownership mapping as part of our Local Property Partnerships programme
3. How to bring asset owners to the table
Sometimes tracking down the asset owner and arranging a viewing isn’t a challenge; some landlords whose buildings are underutilised will be happy to meet.
But other times, property owners are absent, uncontactable, uninterested in engaging and/or they are land banking. This is a tricky hurdle.
(i) Build relationships with local commercial agents and councils
This is where you need partnerships. You’re stronger together. It’s in the interest of local authorities to revitalise high streets and meet social value goals. They will often have connections and power that can help bring key stakeholders around the table to open up conversations about tackling the vacancy crisis and securing the future of town centre assets.
Contact your local councillors and ask them to help you arrange meetings with officers in the regeneration, business and economic development teams. Reach out to property agents in your area.
Illustration by Visual Thinkery
Be prepared that some councils and agents will be more supportive than others. Have evidence up your sleeve so that you can respond to dismissive attitudes or generalisations like “things always go wrong with community organisations or voluntary groups”. Point to examples where community-led property at scale is already working, like Hastings Commons, Nudge Community Builders and Meanwhile in Oxfordshire — all of whom now have active relationships with their local authority.
For Meanwhile in Oxfordshire, local commercial agent Wild Property was instrumental in unlocking 30 buildings in 18 months. They had existing relationships and trust with hundreds of landlords, and could speak their language to bring them to the table.
💡 Tip: Platform Places facilitates Local Property Partnerships that bring councils, asset owners and community leaders around the table.
(ii) Get out and about
It can help to chat to local business owners and tradespeople – they may hold direct relationships with landlords or they may have heard useful rumours about them and their plans for the building. Asking on local forums can yield local intelligence too. A personal introduction goes a long way.
Linda Bloomfield in Hillsborough, Sheffield, took a more direct approach. She had reached the end of her tether trying to find a home on the high street for her arts organisation Rivelin Co – so she dropped letters through every door on the street, introducing her organisation and inviting a conversation.
One landlord (who didn’t know what to do with their vacant unit) read the letter and contacted her, and they were able to agree on a deal that worked for them both!
(iii) Share a concise proposal
Get clear on what you need from a space and what you can offer. How will your idea generate vibrancy and footfall? Write it down in a simple two-page proposal attached to a short email — a teaser to get the landlord to a conversation.
What should a proposal to occupy a building include?
It should be a short, simple document covering:
Vision
Impact
Business / personal credibility and/or track record
Practical space needs
Benefits you can bring to the asset owner and the wider neighbourhood, e.g.:
Can you bring resources (money, materials and/or time) to do the fit-out and improve the space?
Will you invest in design and the look of the space?
Can you bring activities, events and gatherings to the buildings that might benefits other tenants?
If it’s a vacant building, there may be advantages of rates mitigation and security / maintenance.
(Where applicable) indicate how the commercial model / P&L is likely to develop over time during the occupation of the building.
Check out the owner’s website for ESG statements. If they claim to support communities or the environment, show how you can help and hold them to account if they aren’t doing enough.
These things all help!
Ideally, your initial contact with an asset owner will be face-to-face via a direct introduction before you pitch your proposal, but that’s not always possible. Either way, make sure everything ends up in writing as conversations progress.
💡 Tips:
If you’re looking for meanwhile use, check out Meanwhile Space’s template email to landlords
Use the Empty Shops Network and The Meanwhile Project’s ‘Empty Shops Workbook’ Checklist (Page 5) to make sure your project is well-planned. Have answers to every question on that list, ready to alleviate the asset owner’s concerns.
Propose using Platform Place’s ‘Principles for Working Together’ that support new mutually-beneficial ways of working between asset owner and would-be occupiers.
(iv) Knowledge is power
To best engage with councils, agents and asset owners, you need to understand the inner workings of their business, and each departments’ interests, and the language (or jargon!) they use. Mentors can help with this (see #6), as well as coffee chats and conversations over dinner, to understand where each party is coming from.
Illustration by Visual Thinkery
4. How to negotiate with the asset owner
(i) Find a sympathetic lawyer
Before you start negotiations, build a relationship with a trusted lawyer who can help you throughout the process. We recommend Platform Places’ co-founding partner Shoosmiths. Let us know if you’d like an introduction.
(ii) Know your acquisition tactics
Propose a model that you think will be in the best interests of your project – or at least allow you to make a start: whether an outright purchase, a short-term lease, a meanwhile lease with a longer-term option to buy or a long lease.
If leasing, look into whether a social impact agreement would be best for you and use our templates to propose one. an incremental rental model using flexible approaches, such as a revenue or profit share
In most cases, the key is to build a good relationship with the landlord. But you can check if your target building might meet the criteria for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), Asset of Community Value or High Street Rental Auctions (‘right to rent’).
Note that councils can be reluctant to do CPOs as they see it as an expensive and lengthy process, but Philip Brimley (former Estates & Development Manager, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council) said:
"Completing a Town Centre CPO allowed the council to take control of the high street in collaboration with the local community. The opportunity cost was a challenge for the viability of wholesale redevelopment, but it opened the prospect to revitalise existing buildings, and curate a mix of niche independent businesses, community groups, alongside national retailers. The CPO process can seed positive interventions allowing councils to become stewards of their places.”
(iii) Secure your guarantor
It’s helpful to name a guarantor to secure a building, to derisk the process for reluctant asset owners, property developers or agents. Your council might be willing to play this role, or else an existing funder, an established local business. Failing that, your mentor (see below) can be an informal guarantor; their stong reputation in community assets bolsters your credibility.
💡 Tip: Use Meanwhile Space’s risk assessment and conditions checklist in the negotiation and legal process.
5. Finding the money
A major barrier for organisations looking to secure one or more buildings is access to suitable funds. This includes:
‘Pre-development’ funds – to resource a small local team to do partnership-building, feasibility studies and business modelling for example;
Capital funds – to purchase, retrofit and refurbish land and buildings;
Revenue costs – for animating/programming/marketing the space.
Illustration by Visual Thinkery
What sources of funding are available?
Grant
UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund
Towns Deal or UK Shared Prosperity Funds (via your local authority)
Lottery Awards for All
In the Wirral, the Borough Council built in community asset purchases into a £25 million Towns Fund bid that unlocked historic buildings for creative businesses)
Community Shares
Cooperatives UK has details of the Community Shares Booster Fund, development grants and case studies.
In Plymouth, Nudge Community Builders secured £206,750 in a community share offer crowdfunding campaign to bring former pub The Clipper back into use for local benefit
Loans and Mortgages
Seek professional advice and ensure you have a robust financial plan before applying to a lending institution.
Access Foundation provides grant-funding to cover this professional advice and ‘investment readiness’ work. Options include:
In some cases, local authorities may be able and willing to purchase the asset and transfer or lease it to the community on fair terms. The Mansion in Totnes was gifted to the community. In Coventry a 27-site asset-transfer from the council to Historic Coventry Trust unlocked city-wide transformation.
6. Seek a mentor
For all of the above steps, having someone by your side who has done this before — or as Dr Jess Steele OBE puts it, “has been in the trenches” — is one of the most powerful ways to put these tools and tips into action. Stay tuned for Platform Places soon-to-launch peer mentor programme.
Town centre transformation starts with you
Perseverance is key, and it’s helpful to know you are not alone; that you are part of a growing movement around the country of people who want to see their high streets run by — and for — your local community. Get in touch to see how the Platform Places network could support you.
Acknowledgements and further reading:
The above tried-and-tested tactics are collated from the wisdom and combined experience of community asset leaders in the Platform Places Steering Group and network as well as existing excellent resources, including:
The ‘Empty Shops Workbook’ (by the Empty Shops Network and The Meanwhile Project, based on research supported by the Revolutionary Arts Group the Artists Information Company and Worthing Regeneration)
Pop Up Business For Dummies by Platform Places Steering Group member Dan Thompson
Set-up costs calculator by TFL
Resources on community assets by Plunkett Foundation
