Debbie Taylor has spent nearly three years trying to buy a derelict pub in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, which she describes as "a rollercoaster" - presumably not the fun kind with loops and cotton candy.

Her domestic abuse service, Domestic Abuse WA12, has been attempting to acquire the Ram's Head pub to turn it into a hub for local services. Under England's brand-new "community right to buy" powers, part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act - which ministers are calling "the biggest transfer of power to our communities in a generation" - Taylor's group may finally get the keys.

"It's more than a building," Taylor explains. "It's safety, stability, a future for people in our communities left with no options when they're in crisis."

The law allows grassroots organisations to buy community assets unchallenged, provided they can scrape together the funds within 12 months. Previously, the "right to bid" gave groups a six-month window to raise money, but only about 2% of assets actually transferred to community ownership - largely because, surprise, raising money in six months is hard.

When the Ram's Head went to auction, Taylor's group hadn't cobbled together enough cash in time, and the pub failed to meet its reserve price. Now, with a mix of public fundraising, borrowing, and charitable grants, she hopes to both expand services and stop the derelict building from becoming a hangout for antisocial behavior.

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Locality, the national network for community-led organisations, calls this "a real watershed moment" but notes the new rights come with a bittersweet twist: the current government didn't renew the £150m Community Ownership Fund that previously helped groups buy local assets at risk of closing. Without dedicated funding, Armstrong worries only the wealthiest communities will actually benefit.

"The key risk for this is that it remains an achievement on paper, rather than being something which can be taken up, up and down the country," he says.

The law also expands what counts as an "asset of community value." Previously, a building had to have been used for community benefit within the past five years - that cap is now gone. The definition now includes assets that bring economic and social wellbeing, plus a new sporting category.

This could help Deana Bamford, whose co-operative Coalville CAN wants to turn Leicestershire's shuttered market hall into a community hub with clubs, social enterprises, a café, and rotating events. The local authority rejected their application to make it an asset of community value, but the new law gives groups the right to appeal.

"Hopefully that will give us more traction to be able to push them to say 'we're going for it again,'" Bamford says.

Her co-operative has already used community share offers to open CAN HQ, which features over 100 local creatives and artists, plus an advice drop-in, repair workshop, and kids clubs - with some funding help from musician Brian Eno's Coral Foundation.

"Coalville is a town typical of many others… it's got areas of deprivation - you might call them that - but we call it full of local people with loads of skills and talents that haven't been given the chance," Bamford says.

Once secured and upgraded, the asset stays in community hands permanently. "It's for forever," she notes, which is a refreshing change from "for as long as the landlord feels like it."