Community Asset Transfer Phase 2 Assets

Location

The following assets have been approved by cabinet to be included in the second phase of the CAT programme. There will be no other assets included. The council reserve the right to remove any asset currently included in the programme at any time.

1. Anfield Cemetery Chapel, Priory Road, Anfield, L4
2. Garston Urban Village Hall, Banks Road, Garston, L24
3. Joseph Gibbons Day Centre, Livingston Drive, Sefton Park, L17
4. Knotty Ash Community Centre, East Prescot Road, Sandfield Park, L14
5. St Brendan’s Shrine/Church, Prescot Road, Old Swan East, L13
6. Former Lodge Lane Library, Lodge Lane, L8

Please refer to the asset information document for further detail on each asset included in phase two. Each asset has received approval to be included in the CAT programme and pose opportunities for community uses subject to planning. Successful parties are advised to carry out their own investigations and surveys to determine the condition of the assets.

Description

Liverpool City Council is offering this unique opportunity to acquire a Council asset via leases under the Community Use and Asset Transfer Policy (CAT). The policy was first adopted in 2022 and seeks to provide clarity for council officers, members and the third sector about the council’s approach to community transfers. Since its adopted, there have been further updates to the policy to enhance the way in which the council market assets and receive applications from eligible organisations.

The aim of the policy is to support the third sector to ensure all proposals for Community Transfer help to deliver the Councils overall vision for Liverpool – in line with the objectives of the Council Plan and the City Plan. The Council recognise that no single organisation is able to deliver necessary transformative change in areas of the city. Partners, including communities, can work together better – combining their resources and aligning public service delivery, in pursuit of shared aims and outcomes and in doing so will bring vacant assets back into community use.

The Council wants to help third sector groups whose primary purpose in using a council asset is to offer Liverpool residents social, community, culture and/or environmental benefits. Therefore, it is fully committed to supporting local communities who have bold and innovative ideas for using buildings and space differently, or for ensuring that much loved community services can thrive.

All information on the policy including eligibility, application process, evaluation process, community benefit criteria etc can be found on the designated Community Asset Transfer page here - https://liverpool.gov.uk/communities-and-safety/community-initiatives-funding-and-grants/community-asset-transfer/

Site Area

Site details within Asset Information Document

Tenure

The City Council owns the freehold of the assets and would consider disposing of 10-to-30-year leases to successful applicants subject to specific terms to be agreed. Disposal will be Subject to Contract and City Council approval. Interested parties should submit their Expressions of Interest as per the application process on the above CAT website.

Offers

The CAT application process is as follows;

Stage one;

1. Group completes and submits Expression of Interest (EOI)
2. EOI assessed by CAT working group and recommendation made to Community Asset Panel
3. The Community Asset Panel will make a decision to either endorse the application or reject it. If the EOI is rejected, the working group will provide feedback and invite the group to resubmit their EOI (resubmissions will only be allowed once)
4. If the EOI has been endorsed by the panel the group will be invited to prepare a business plan.

Stage two:

5. Business plan completed and submitted by group
6. Working group will assess the business plan and put forward their recommendation to the Community Asset Panel.
7. The Community Asset Panel will make a decision to either endorse the business plan or reject it. If the business plan is rejected, the working group will provide feedback and invite the group to resubmit their business plan (resubmissions will only be allowed once)

Stage three:

8. If the business plan is endorsed the group will be offered Heads of Terms for the lease. The Heads of Terms letter will include a long stop date by which the exchange of contracts and complete of the Asset Transfer must take plane, and detailed contracts will be issues. The group will be expected to engage relevant professional advisor to complete the Asset Transfer.
9. Completion of transfer – on completion of contracts the Asset will be handed over to the community group in accordance with the contract provisions.

The Expression of Interest submission link and all templates including the scoring criteria, policy document and draft Heads of Terms to support applications can be found on the CAT webpage here -  https://liverpool.gov.uk/communities-and-safety/community-initiatives-funding-and-grants/community-asset-transfer/

Submissions should be made by 4pm on Monday 7^th July 2025. Any Expressions of Interest submitted after 12pm on Monday 7^th July 2025 will not be considered.

The Council reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, not to accept any bid received and is under no obligation to progress with any offer or negotiation. Furthermore, the Council reserves the right to amend, withdraw, or remove any property or asset from the disposal programme at any time and without prior notice.

Fees

All Community Asset Transfer are subject to the payment of the City Councils surveyor’s fees of £2,000 and legal fees of £3,000. These fees are non-negotiable.

Rates

Please contact 0151 233 3000 for further information on business rates or visit https://liverpool.gov.uk/business/business-rates/.

Planning

The purpose of the CAT programme is to promote the provision of Community uses only.

Interested parties should make themselves aware of relevant planning policy relating to their proposal for this asset, including the Liverpool Local Plan and advice at the following link:- www.liverpool.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/guidance-and-policies/advice-notes/

The Planning Authority provide a pre-application service, details of which are on the attached link below.  Any planning enquiries should be made through this process – www.liverpool.gov.uk/business/planning-and-building-control/preparing-an-application/our-pre-application-service

Viewing Arrangements

All information on the Community Asset Transfer Programme can be found on the webpage above.

If you have any other queries relating to this programme that you cannot find answers for on the webpage, please contact:  CAT@Liverpool.gov.uk

There will be no viewings of the property at this initial application stage. Successful parties of the first EOI stage will get the opportunity to view the properties prior to submitting their Business Plans. Due to the condition of some of the assets internal viewing may be restricted.