Making Stewardship Happen – A Process Guide for Councils

Creating healthy, thriving new communities means providing the spaces, places and infrastructure that people need to live well and which enable the natural world to thrive. It also means empowering people to have a say on how their homes and neighbourhoods are created and managed, providing opportunities for active citizenship. Long-term stewardship is an approach to delivering and managing places that can ensure new communities remain places which enable people and the environment to flourish, in perpetuity. It is one of the core Garden City Principles and the right approach provides an opportunity to create places which people will be proud to live in for years to come.

Elsewhere in this toolkit you can find a wealth of information about long-term stewardship and what it means.

There is no ‘one size fits’ all stewardship approach for new developments. The right stewardship solution is unique to every site and project; and sufficient time, resources and enthusiasm are required to find the right solution. This process fits within a planning and delivery framework for new communities for which there is also no single linear approach. Despite this complexity, there are a number of key questions that need to be answered in the process of determining what stewardship might encompass in your development, and how stewardship might work, whatever stage the development is at. This guide draws on the experience from the TCPA’s publications and networks, to provide an indicative guide to the process of developing a stewardship strategy.

About this guide and how to use it
This resource is intended to assist local authorities, their private sector delivery partners, and interested stakeholders to understand what questions might need to be addressed when considering stewardship of a new community, and what can be realistically and appropriately expected from the developers or their agents. This is to inform discussion within the local authority and with delivery partners and other stakeholders. It is also intended to help local authorities identify where external expertise is needed, and to become an ‘informed client’ when seeking legal, financial, or other expertise. Its questions and processes are prompts only and should be adapted to specific needs and circumstances of each place and project as part of a stewardship strategy.

It is recognised that users of this resource will be from a range of organisations, with a range of knowledge and expertise on stewardship, and dealing with projects of a range of scales, which will be at a variety of stages of planning and development. While ideally, discussions about stewardship would begin at the earliest stages of plan-making, we appreciate the reality is very different. This resource has therefore focused on some of the key issues and questions to be considered, whatever stage the development is at. It is written with local authorities in mind, but should be useful for all project partners. While it is focused on the context of a strategy for a new community, many of the details within may be of use for authorities creating a local authority-wide strategy.
Long-term stewardship in new communities is an evolving practice – getting it right is an art not a science. In creating this resource, we have drawn on research and experience from our New Communities Group and through the work of our project partners and stewardship consultants. We would welcome feedback on the resource so that it can be periodically reviewed and updated.
This resource should be read alongside the TCPA’s practical guidance on long-term stewardship and other ‘live’ resources on the TCPA’s website.

Acknowledgements
The TCPA is grateful to the Lady Margaret Paterson Osborn Trust, Bournville Village Trust, and GreenBelt for supporting the production of this Guide. This Guide was written by Katy Lock with technical advice and drafting provided by Mark Patchett, Community Stewardship Solutions. Thanks to Rebecca Lambert for support and production of other resources in this toolkit.

At the outset it is important to take a moment to understand what your starting point is, and the implications of this for your stewardship strategy. This means reflecting on your understanding and ambitions as a local authority when it comes to stewardship. At this stage you should also seek a basic understanding of the ambition and commitments of the promotor/developer/housebuilder in relation to stewardship, and the status of the project in design and planning. This will help to identify key opportunities and challenges at an early stage and help you to be realistic about what might be achieved on the site or project.

You might set up an initial stewardship working group at this stage. The group might draft a statement of intent and programme for your strategy including a list of key stakeholders and moments of public engagement on stewardship options. While councils are encouraged to be ambitious in their vision and commitment to long-term stewardship, the specific circumstances of a project – from land ownership to planning status – will have a direct impact on whether this can be achieved.

If you are aiming for a modern ‘Letchworth’ model (i.e., where an entire site or project is owned and managed by a single body on behalf of the community, with resources re-invested in perpetuity) for example, then stewardship intentions must be made clear ahead of land deals being finalised, requirements must be embedded in Local Plan policy, and the landowner/developer must appreciate the benefits of taking a long-term and holistic approach.

Being realistic about where the project is in the planning and development process is essential to enable a viable and deliverable approach to stewardship. Understanding this at an early stage can make the process of developing your stewardship strategy more efficient, and can inform pubic engagement processes.

Stage 1 includes consideration of:
-> The council’s understanding of stewardship
-> The council’s ambition for stewardship across the authority and on specific sites – including as expressed in existing in policy and practice
-> Any commitments or intentions that have been expressed by the landowner/developer/promotor or local stakeholders e.g. Parish or Town Council/s
-> The opportunities and constraints presented by the status of the project in planning and design
-> The resources available within your authority to progress work on stewardship
Establishing a stewardship working group within your team and drafting a statement of intent

What are the key variables?
1. The Council’s understanding and commitment to long-term stewardship: Council’s will be at a variety of stages of understanding on stewardship. Understanding and ambition is likely to vary within and between council teams and governance structures. It might be a corporate commitment already, or something you have been forced to consider by a specific development proposal. There are a range of opportunities to engage with stewardship – with a corporate commitment to requiring stewardship on all sites and an interest in direct involvement in the governance or running of a stewardship at one end – to a simple desire to improve the quality of development proposals and ensure assets are managed properly to avoid financial liability on the council at the other.

2. The Council’s ‘in-principle’ thoughts on commuted sums and/or financial models: The council may already have a standing position on whether service charges should or should not be used for stewardship. This would form a starting point to test different models and approaches.

3. The status of stewardship in the Local Plan: If stewardship requirements are outlined in Local Plan policy, then the authority is in a strong position to achieve a holistic approach to stewardship on the site and to secure the resources to deliver it through planning consent.

4. Whether the land sale has been agreed: The development process does not create endless funds, and if the land sale has already been agreed ahead of stewardship considerations being discussed then resources available for stewardship are likely to be more limited.

5. Current land ownership and long-term ownership: Who owns the land, and their business model, will have a direct impact on the type of stewardship model that might be achievable. Some will understand the benefits of a long-term approach, for others this will not be consistent with their commercial model. Understanding this will give an indication of the likelihood that current landowners will share your ambition for stewardship.

6. The developer/promotor/housebuilder: Related to land ownership, the approach and business model of the housebuilders/ developer will directly affect stewardship opportunities. A Master developer who understands the benefits of a consistent site wide long-term approach is most likely to enable higher stewardship ambitions. In some cases, developers may have independently committed to or progressed work on stewardship for the site.

7. The assets to be owned/managed and the associated roles and responsibilities: New communities will involve delivery and management of a broad range of assets – from greenspace to energy, transport to cultural facilities. The breadth and extent of these assets will inform which approach might be most suitable.

8. Existing governance or stewardship arrangements: Existing Parish Councils may already play a stewardship role and along with and newly proposed Parish Councils, are likely to form part of your stewardship strategy.

Stage 1 Actions:

1. Read, learn, collaborate: It’s important to make sure key parties understand what stewardship means. This includes everyone from officers and elected members, to developers and landowners, to local communities and stakeholders. Read the guidance and consider having a specific session on the subject. Speak to other local authorities through the TCPA’s New Communities Group.
2. Set up a stewardship working group: Local-authority led and including local stakeholders such as Parish Councils and other community representatives, as well as the master developer, landowner, promotor.
3. Consider using the Checklist (see Worksheet 1)

The aim of this stage is to get a clear understanding of the constraints and opportunities in relation to the stewardship of the project or place. From this you can create an evidence base to inform your thinking and to help understand what external expertise is necessary to progress the stewardship strategy. This involves gathering key information about existing circumstances, what is proposed in the development/s and what roles and responsibilities the stewardship organisation might have. The list of considerations outlined below incorporates those set out in the Homes England Garden Communities Toolkit, and those gathered from research and project experience. 

At this stage the stewardship working group could create a written evidence base to form the basis of options testing and public engagement on stewardship.

Stage 2 includes:

Stage 2a: Evidence gathering on the following (See Worksheet 2):

• Assets: The broad categories of assets to be provided in the development, and which of these might be owned/managed by a stewardship body.
• Remit: The role of the stewardship body in community development as well as asset management. This includes how the stewardship body might hold the assets.
• Governance: Any local governance structures that are already in place or proposed through the project e.g. Parish Councils (existing or proposed) and whether the stewardship body should be governed by the community it covers.
• Land ownership: Who is the current landowner, who will be the landowner in the long-term, including whether any ownership might be transferred to the stewardship body.
• Finance: The council’s principal perspective on a funding model for stewardship in terms of the use of service charges and/or endowments. Initial estimates of the costs of managing and maintaining the assets in the long-term to inform a business plan. Potential sources of funding for the stewardship body
• Legal options: Potential suitable legal options to provide appropriate protection for a stewardship body, and the future of the assets it manages.

Stage 2b: Create a long-list of options

Using the evidence base gathered, create a shortlist of which legal and organisational forms the stewardship body might take. While there are a range of options, it is likely that the shortlist will comprise one or a hybrid of the following):

• Adoption (by Local Authority or Parish Council)
• ManCo (Management Company)
• Community Trust / CIC (Stakeholder board)Third Party (Freehold/Leasehold)

Stage 2c: Consultation and Public Participation

This may be a suitable time to consult with relevant stakeholders on potential governance models for the stewardship body.

The aim of this stage is to test your list of options to see which is most likely to meet your needs and to seek to identify some preferred options and approaches. It can also be used to inform engagement with stakeholders to provide a transparent decision-making process.

From this you can identify a short-list of options, including establishing whether any land and/or other assets are to be adopted by the Local Authority or if there is preference for a third-party management approach to be used for all or part of the project.  Where a third-party approach is to be considered, the shortlist can include preferences for these models which may include a standard private Management Company, a charitable/community trust or a third-party specialist management organisation.  Depending on whether you are a local authority taking a proactive approach to determining your preferred approach, or understanding approaches proposed by landowners/developers/promotors, the testing of financial and legal implications of the options may be done ‘in-house’ or you may seek external expertise to review and test costs on your behalf.

Drawing on experience from the TCPA’s New Communities Group and Stewardship Toolkit project partners, the following decision-making criteria might be used to test your options. These can be adapted to suit the project and the commitments made by the council about its stewardship ambitions. The term ‘Stewardship Body’ is used to incorporate all types of stewardship organisation listed above:

1. A robust approach, in perpetuity: What is the ability of the model to fulfil the required roles and responsibilities, including managing assets to a high standard, in perpetuity? A stewardship strategy should take a long-term view. The planning and build-out of a new community can take decades, and your stewardship strategy must consider how the endowed assets will be held by the stewardship body in perpetuity to protect their use for future generations. It is important that the model that is chosen to hold the assets and deliver the strategy is able to exist in perpetuity and there is protection against members distributing the assets to members or an entity that will not use them for the same purpose.
2. Governance: Does the model have an appropriate democratic [KL1] governance structure? Will the stewardship body be under local control upon completion? A key feature of a ‘whole place’ stewardship approach is likely to include a body with the ability to hand over management and influence of the area to local residents and stakeholders. Other ‘third party’ models might not transfer management or governance to the community.   For this reason, it is important that any model chosen allows local residents and stakeholders to participate in decision making and the direction of the organisation. At the same time, protective mechanisms will be in place to avoid disproportionate influence from any particular interest group.
3. Viability and finance: The model must have sufficient financial resources for start-up, development and long-term viability.  It is likely to require development capital, growth capital, and working capital. It will often also require a revenue stream. In terms of managing finances, there are some structures that lend themselves to resource or cost sharing in more efficient ways than others. In addition, charitable structures offer reliefs on certain taxes and business rates which can be useful when balancing costs. Some of these cost savings can come with certain disadvantages which you will need to weigh up.
4. Credibility and acceptability: The stewardship body must be a form that will be accepted as credible not only by your Local Authority, but by future residents and other stakeholders. For this reason, it can be tempting to default to a widely recognised model. It is important to ensure the model you choose is robust but suited to your needs and that of the community. Accountability is essential. All entities are potentially credible depending on how they are utilised, so governance is not necessarily a reliable test of credibility. It must be clear that the model allows for an appropriate handover of control and influence to the residents from the developer.
5. Fairness and affordability for residents: Unless endowments and developer contributions are sufficient to fund the stewardship body and its activities, a proportion of the organisation’s income may come from an estate service charge for residents across the area. It is essential that this service charge is both affordable and equitable for residents. The structure of any rent charge may impact the chosen governance structure for the stewardship body. For example, residents should only be charged for the services they benefit from, so this may determine which body holds which assets.
6. Replicability and scalability: Where your stewardship strategy relates to multiple sites across your local authority, or on a site where further expansion is possible, it is worth considering the replicability and scalability of the model. This includes whether there is desire to extend the model to nearby sites where other arrangements are already in place. Scaling up has different considerations and can result in significant work depending on a number of factors. For example, you would need to consider whether there will be any changes to the estate service charge as a result of scaling up and will this change be fair or will some people be paying more than others? Often, the stewardship body’s governing document and other associated documents set out the area of benefit i.e. the parameters of where the activities will take place. If the area of benefit is being widened, further consideration of whether the objects allow for wider scale may be necessary.
7. Flexibility: Given the long-term nature of large-scale projects, it is useful to have the flexibility within the governance structure to be able to adapt and change once it is established to respond to local needs and circumstances as they evolve. This may be within the constitution itself, the way in which the governance structure operates, and/or the detailed role it plays.

Having undertaken a high-level assessment of your long-list of options, it is necessary to undertake more detailed calculations of your shortlisted options, and to understand in more detail the financial and legal implications of the shortlisted models. Ideally, your stewardship working group would include internal colleagues with legal and financial expertise to inform Stage 3. If the expertise is not available within your local authority, you may which to appoint external support.

Where land or assets are to be adopted, the legal and financial circumstances will be available to the local authority. Where a developer is proposing a specific stewardship model, they will be responsible for providing this information to the local authority. At this stage it is necessary to ensure the proposed models are suitable legally and financially. Encourage the developer to work proactively with you on sharing this information. This stage is about ensuring you have confidence in the proposed models before signing them off.

At this stage you may which to produce a full draft of your stewardship strategy.

Securing adopted policy which outlines your expectations and standards around stewardship is one of the strongest tools councils have to encourage high quality and viable stewardship arrangements. Developer contributions secured through the planning consent process remain a crucial means of securing capital for stewardship arrangements and maintenance. This section touches on what might be included in Development Plan policy and developer contributions.

4a. Planning policy on stewardship

The TCPA has produced a separate briefing note on securing stewardship requirements in the development plan. Securing this in your Local Plan as early as possible will help to inform the development and your stewardship strategy. Depending on what stage this work is carried out, your shortlisted options and strategy could be used to secure specific expectations in Local Plan policy or Design Codes.

4b. Securing support for stewardship through developer contributions or endowments

Financial calculations undertaken to establish the long-term financial needs of a stewardship body or bodies should be used to inform section 106 agreements to secure up front capital funding and require that funding for the ongoing management of community assets is provided. Planning applications should include a plan for the ongoing management of community assets.

Note that stewardship strategies are likely to be reviewed at each stage of planning e.g. outline, then detailed planning.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The local authority can apply the CIL revenue it receives to fund the ‘provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure to support the development of its area’. This also applies to the neighbourhood funding elements (15% of CIL income or 25% where there is a neighbourhood plan), designed to encourage local people to support development by providing direct financial incentives to be spent on local priorities. The use of CIL as a revenue stream is dependent on the charging authority or parish or town councils specifying CIL’s use by the stewardship body. [Source: Built Today, Treasured Tomorrow (TCPA, 2014) p.24].

Other tariffs and policy

Not all councils will have a CIL charging schedule. You may set out expectations in other Development Plan policy or SPDs. Milton Keynes Council has included requirements for developer contributions related to stewardship of green infrastructure in its Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (2021).

Section 106 agreements (also known as planning gain, planning obligations or planning contributions)

Section 106 agreements are used to secure capital funding for infrastructure, including community assets. Local authorities can require that revenue funding for the ongoing management of community assets is also provided. This could be in the form of a cash endowment or an endowment of a land or property portfolio. This source of revenue funding relies on specific negotiation early in the development process.

The Heads of Terms for a Section 106 agreement in relation to stewardship might include:

• Community facilities
• Community Worker
• Community Management Organisation
• Green Infrastructure
• Allotments
• Play Areas
• Public Realm including Public Art
• Primary Healthcare
• Outdoor Sports
• Community Employment and Training Plan
• Cemetery
• Ecology

The downloadable sheet below provides an example of what might be included in a outlined Heads of Terms in relation to long-term stewardship. This is not exhaustive or prescriptive and should be adapted for your own needs and considerations.

A robust approach to implementation of the stewardship strategy is an essential tool to ensure your stewardship ambitions and commitments are realised on site. The implementation programme is usually brought together through a timetabled Implementation Plan to be approved as a planning condition. Implementation will commence long before the first occupation, and depending on the triggers for developer contributions/Section 106 agreements, implementation may even start before formal commencement.

For a simple or small-scale project, the Implementation Plan might be in the form of a Landscape Management and Maintenance Plan which sets out both the detailed maintenance regimes as well as the long-term ownership, governance and resourcing arrangements.

For a larger or more complex project, the stewardship arrangements are likely to be set out in an overall Business Plan for the stewardship body(ies) underpinned by more detailed asset Management and Maintenance Plans approved (or conditioned) with each detailed planning application or reserved matters application. The Business Plan and/or Management Plans will set out the stewardship aims and objectives, the stewardship assets, roles and responsibilities and thepaper timetable for their delivery, who will own them and hold the maintenance liabilities, and how they will be governed and resourced. This should consider how activities will evolve over time, and if a whole place stewardship body like a community trust is the option, clarity of exit strategy for the developer and other partners and stakeholders, and the process of asset transfer.

Actions: Creating the Implementation Plan

Task 1: Stewardship and Governance Implementation/Business Plan:

• Prepare the Implementation/Business Plan to include the associated Financial Model
• Update the maintenance costs for the proposed schedule of community assets

Task 2: Conveyancing preparations

• Prepare the relevant rent/service charge documentation and processes for use in associated sales negotiations and legal completions;
• Prepare for estate management (collection of resident charges, customer service and landscape management);
• Prepare and agree the resident information pack; to be available before first sales marketing commences and train sales staff and developer’s conveyancers.
  

Task 3: Implementation:

• Plan for managing and maintaining the public open spaces, play areas and other early facilities
• Create stewardship brand and associated first marketing materials;
• Build and operate the organisational infrastructure to ensure the stewardship organisation becomes fully compliant and fit for purpose
• Advise and work with the architects to prepare the design and operating model for the community centre and its various components for submission by [date/trigger];
• Community Development, Engagement and Consultation: recruit the community development worker and deliver early community development activities.

Long-term stewardship is an ongoing and evolving process. Stewardship strategies may be reviewed and updated in line with key phases in the project delivery plan, and through Local Plan review stages.