Key principles
The Community Right to Challenge offers community and voluntary groups the right to put in an Expression of Interest (EOI) to take over the running of Council services and facilities.
If an EOI is received by the us, it has to consider whether to accept it, accept it with modifications or reject it. Once accepted, an EOI triggers a full procurement exercise in which the service put out to tender.
At that point any organisation can put in a bid to take it over and there is no guarantee that the original group will be successful.
There are a number of requirements in the Act. In addition, we have established a number of key principles to set out what it expects from the process and also to protect and preserve Council assets. These key principles are helpful for any group considering putting in an EOI.
Informal discussions
However, it is useful to note that the Right to Challenge may not always be the best route for community groups to follow. There may be other options that will give the same or better result. We are therefore keen to enter into dialogue with any community groups considering using the challenge in order to discuss potential opportunities for working in a different way. Community groups considering using the Right to Challenge are therefore encouraged to contact us at any time to begin informal discussions.
Approaches should be made in writing to the address below.