Community asset network

The Trust uses its expertise in managing property to further benefit the community by advising local groups that run community owned buildings – often referred to as ‘Community Assets’.  While the Trust has been advising a number of organisations on a one-to-one basis we are now extending this work through a grant from the government funded agency ‘Capacity Builders’.

The Trust has now established a Community Asset Network to help support all those in Southampton’s community and volutary sector who are dealing with property related issues.  The network meets at 12 noon on the first Wednesday of each month excluding January, August, and December. The venue is decided on a rolling basis touring different community venues in the city centre.

The Network meeting dates for 2010 will be:
February 17th  (This has been postponed from February 3rd)
March 3rd – CANCELLED
April 7th
May 5th
June 2nd
July 7th
September 1st
October 6th
November 18th

If you would like to find out more about this network or attend a meeting then please email property@wict.co.uk.  For further information the introductory presentation slides and a typical agenda can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. Papers and presentation from previous meetings are also available for download below.

INTRODUCTORY DOWNLOADS:

* Community Asset Network Introductory Slides
* Typical Agenda

MEETING PAPERS (2009):

* Meeting 1 (Jun) – Agenda – Network Update – Property Management Presentation
* Meeting 2 (Jul) – Agenda – Network Update – Property Management Presentation
* Meeting 3 (Sep) – Agenda – Network Update – Property Management Presentation
* Meeting 4 (Oct) – Agenda – Network Update – Property Management Presentation
* Meeting 5 (Nov) – Agenda – Network Update – Property Management Presentation

As a part of this work the trust has also collaborated with and funded the Environment Centre to develop a guide and a series of detailed case studies to help those running Community Centres improve their environmental performance and hopefully save money at the same time. The guide is called ‘How Green is Your Community’ and is available along with the case studies from the Trust’s office. If you would like a copy please email property@wict.co.uk.

OTHER USEFUL TOOLS:

A new guide for communities considering purchasing land and buildings is now available for download from Co-operative & Community Finance’s website. If you would like to download a copy please follow the link below:

http://www.icof.co.uk/docs/BuildingCommunityAssetsGuide.pdf

Following discussion at Octobers meeting we have uploaded some useful tools to help with managing Health and Safety and other building related risks. Click on the links below to download copies.

General Health and safety guide
Example Health and Safety Policy
Fire Safety Guide
Five steps to fire safety leaflet
Fire Risk assessment form

As ever, if you choose to use these resources you should not use them in isolation. You should seek out other tools and resources and take advice where appropriate to ensure your work in this area is informed and well considered from a number of view-points.