CALLS have been made for greater clarification of new Government legislation after a mini-revolt in Stogursey over plans to make a host of local businesses 'community assets'.

Stogursey Parish Council had asked West Somerset Council to formally list the village shop, post office, pub and garage as "assets of community value" under the new Localism Act 2011.

But the bids were apparently made without the prior knowledge of the owners of the businesses who reacted furiously to the news.

Geoff Davey of the Corner Shop in Stogursey said the tag of being a 'community asset' would be detrimental to his business as its value could plummet if potential buyers were unable to get a mortgage.

"It's a really good shop and we do a good trade but what bank would be willing to lend on it with this stuck on it?" he said.

"At the end of the day it's my business, we're not a parish council assets and they don't own us."

The Localism Act allows any parish council or a community group with more than 21 members to nominate land or buildings as community assets to try and prevent them from being lost and converted into residential developments.

There is no requirement for consultation prior to a listing and, once listed, the business or land cannot be sold on the open market unless the community has been given the chance to buy it first.

Businesses can be exempted from the rule providing they are sold as a going concern.

The Shurton Inn in nearby Shurton, the Notley Arms in Monksilver and the old hospital in Minehead have already been listed as community assets as defined by the Act.

The owner of the Notley Arms objected to the pub's listing but failed to have the decision overturned - instead he said he would simply refuse to sell it to the community.

At Wednesday's meeting of West Somerset Council's cabinet, councillors were told the parish council had withdrawn all its nominations "pending more consideration".

Stogursey member and deputy leader Cllr Chris Morgan confirmed there had been "problems" and the nominations had caused "a certain amount of bad feeling" in the village.

He blamed a lack of information about the community asset process and said it had to be made clear to parish and town councils, as well as community groups, that there was no urgency or time limit for listing properties or land.

"This does seem to be the time to have this whole scheme thoroughly explained so that other town and parish councils do not experience the problems Stogursey has experienced," he said.

"This has the potential to protect vulnerable businesses in the future and could be invaluable to rural communities, but there has to be clarification.

"I would ask that all the information is made available to the councils and, if it is deemed necessary, this council runs a workshop for businesses, town and parish councils and community groups in order that there is no doubt about this scheme as it does have the potential to cause problems."

Cabinet members were told information about the nomination process and the implications of a listing were available on the district council's website, together with links to the finer details of the Localism Act.

But corporate director Bruce Lang warned the legislation itself left many questions unanswered.

"There are a lot of issues that are not clear even to us," he said.

Community assets can include pubs, village halls, shops and recreation grounds, but cannot include properties deemed to be "wholly residential".

In Stogursey, four business and a vacant workshop had been earmarked for nomination before the item was withdrawn from the cabinet agenda - the Corner Shop, the post office, the Greyhound Inn, Stogursey Motors and a workshop and cold store at 1 High Street.

If a building or land is accepted by the local authority as a community asset, nothing happens until the owners decide to sell.

Unless an exemption applies, such as the land or building being sold as a going concern, the owner must give the nominators six weeks to decide whether to submit a bid to try and buy the asset for the community.

If no bid is made, the owner is free to sell the asset on the open market.

However, if a bid is received, a six month moratorium is put on the sale to give the community group or parish council time to try and raise the necessary funds to purchase the asset.

After the six months has lapsed and if no offer to buy has been made, the owner is then able to market the asset on the open market - but only for a limited time of 12 months.

If no buyer is found within that time, the whole process begins again.

Business and property owners have the right to appeal against being listing as a community asset through the authority's scrutiny committee.