£1 buildings sale scheme considered

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly says she wants to promote "a new era of civic pride" by handing control of the management and ownership of key assets to local communities.

Councils will be given a new responsibility to identify unused property which could benefit the community, and a £30 million fund will support 20 pilot projects across the country to increase the transfer of assets.

The initiative - using money first announced in March - comes shortly after Tony Blair's expected successor as prime minister, Gordon Brown, called for more community involvement in local decision-making.

Ms Kelly was speaking on the publication of a report by Lewisham Council chief executive Barry Quirk, which argues that transferring public assets to communities not only leads to more responsive services but also promotes strong communities with a confident civic spirit.

Local authorities have powers to sell or lease assets at below market prices, compulsorily purchase derelict property or require landowners to clean up sites that are adversely affecting the local neighbourhood.

But the Quirk Report finds these powers are not often used and calls for a "major culture shift" in local authorities to help promote more active citizenship and give people a greater part in running in local services.

Speaking at the report's launch in Sheffield on Tuesday, Ms Kelly is expected to say: "When local government is more open to communities being part of the solution... this is not just good because it makes people feel better - although it does. It also works.

"The evidence from the last 10 years is clear: when we get it right, if you give local people more power, you'll get a better result.

"Better services, greater satisfaction with the neighbourhood, and greater satisfaction with the local authority."