The Community Rights are a set of powers contained within the Localism Act which comes into effect in 2012. They aim to devolve power from government to communities, local authorities and individuals giving you more control over your community. There are 4 Community Rights: the Community Right to Build, Community Right to Bid, Community Right to Challenge and Neighbourhood Planning.

The Community Right to Build gives you the power to build new shops, housing or community facilities without going through the normal planning process. The Community Right to Bid gives the opportunity to bid to buy and run valued local amenities if they come onto the open market. The Right to Challenge gives local groups the chance to register their interest in taking over a council-run service. Neighbourhood planning powers allow people to decide how their local area should develop and what should be built. More detail can be found in the plain english guide to the Localism Act.

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