Commentary on Sections Section 8: Meaning of “community building”
52.Section 8 defines a “community building” for the purpose of the scheme. Subsection (1)(a) gives some examples of the types of community building that are likely to qualify under the scheme but this list is not intended to be definitive. The public or a section of the public must have access to the building, or those parts of it, in which the charitable activities are taking place.
53.Subsection (2) of section 8 specifically excludes from the meaning of a community building any parts of a building used wholly or mainly for residential purposes or the sale or supply of goods. As a result, charity shops and residential care homes, for example, are not community buildings for the purpose of this section.
54.Subsection (3) of section 8 excludes parts of buildings used wholly or mainly for other commercial purposes from the meaning of a community building, except at times when a charity is using that part of the building to carry out a charitable activity and the charity has exclusive use of that part of the building at that time.
55.Subsection (4) of section 8 treats as a single building two or more buildings on the same or adjacent land where the same person holds a freehold or leasehold interest in the land. Subsection (7) applies this principle to interest in land held in Scotland. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 8 give the Treasury the power to make an order providing that in specified circumstances a building is, or is not, to be treated as a community building, and to specify circumstances when two or more buildings in the same vicinity are to be treated as a single building.
56.The purpose of subsections (4) and (7) is to prevent charities seeking to increase their entitlement to the specified amount by appearing to run several different local groups in different community buildings on the same site where, in fact, there is just one group. For example a school may have six buildings on the school site but can only claim for one single community building, not six. The power contained in subsection (5) provides the flexibility for the Treasury to widen or narrow the definition of a community building in section 8 should evidence come to light that certain buildings ought, or ought not, to be treated as a community building.