This month’s Representatives and Reference Group discussion highlighted three connected issues that matter for the VCSE sector in Leeds: access to community buildings and estates, the role of prevention within neighbourhood health, and the importance of stronger links into West Yorkshire decision-making.
Taken together, they point to a wider question about how the sector is supported to contribute to system change, not just respond to it.
Estates, community buildings and alternative routes to access
One of the issues raised was the challenge of accessing community buildings through formal community asset transfer routes.
While community asset transfer can create opportunities, the discussion reflected a familiar frustration. The process can be slow, complex and resource-intensive for VCSE organisations. Buildings can sit empty for long periods, fall into disrepair, and become harder to bring back into use. There was also recognition that community asset transfer may not always be the best or only route.
An important point from the discussion was that health partners may also have community asset transfer opportunities, which could open up other possibilities beyond the local authority route. There was also a broader reflection that some organisations are already finding different ways to secure and revive buildings, including through direct purchase or other funding-led approaches, rather than waiting for formal transfer processes to move forward.
For Leeds, this feels like an important conversation to keep developing. If neighbourhood health is to mean more activity rooted in communities, then access to the right local spaces matters. The question is not only how buildings are transferred, but how the city supports community use of assets in practical, sustainable ways.
Read our Community Asset Transfer Perspective
Neighbourhood health and the role of prevention
A second major theme was neighbourhood health and what it means in practice for the VCSE sector.
There was a clear sense from the meeting that neighbourhood health is now becoming the main organising lens across the system, with transformation work increasingly being brought together under that heading. This reflects national direction as well as local change. The Government’s Neighbourhood Health Framework sets out that shift clearly, with a stronger emphasis on prevention, integration and support that is closer to communities.
Read the Neighbourhood Health Framework
For the VCSE sector, the most important question is where prevention sits within this agenda and how the third sector is recognised within it. Prevention is not a separate add-on. It is already delivered every day through community support, trusted relationships, early help, peer networks and place-based activity. The challenge is making sure that this contribution is fully understood within emerging structures.
The meeting also touched on the new multi-neighbourhood footprint model for Leeds, which is intended to help shape how services and partners work across the city. While the model will continue to evolve, it is likely to be important for citywide organisations and those working across particular communities or localities.
Forum Central has previously shared work on neighbourhood health and how the VCSE sector can contribute to this agenda. That wider context remains useful as the city moves from discussion into delivery.
Stronger VCSE links into West Yorkshire
The third issue was the need for stronger VCSE connectivity into West Yorkshire structures, including the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
This came through in a few different ways during the meeting. There was discussion about making sure Leeds stays connected to wider West Yorkshire boards and developments, particularly as roles and structures continue to change. There was also a reminder that the VCSE sector needs clear routes into those regional conversations if it is going to influence policy, investment and strategic priorities effectively.
That matters not just for representation, but for practical issues such as work, health, transport, community wellbeing and inclusive growth. If decisions are increasingly being shaped across West Yorkshire, then the sector needs strong, visible and well-supported links into those spaces.
Forum Central has already published information about West Yorkshire VCSE representation, including the advisory group structure, which is a useful starting point for understanding how these links work.
Read more about the VCSE advisory group membership.
There is also a wider backdrop to this through the transition of Power of Communities to VCSE leadership across West Yorkshire. That work reinforces the principle that the sector should be embedded in planning and decision-making at every level, including regionally.
Read more here about Power of Communities transition to VSCE leadership across West Yorkshire.
Overview
If the sector is expected to play a stronger role in neighbourhood health, it needs access to spaces, fair routes into planning, and meaningful representation at Leeds and West Yorkshire level. If prevention is to be taken seriously, then the community infrastructure that makes prevention possible also needs to be taken seriously.
The discussion at Representatives and Reference Group reflected both the opportunities and the tensions in the current moment. There is progress, there are strong advocates in the system, and there is real potential. But there is also a need to keep pushing for practical conditions that allow the VCSE sector to contribute fully and sustainably.
If you are not a member or want to attend the Representatives and Reference Group, you can find out more on our Representatives web page.
