Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2016
The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will result in real improvements in how land is owned, used and managed across Scotland.
Land ownership by communities has gone from strength to strength, and there are impressive examples of community buyouts throughout the country. In West Scotland, for example, in 2006 the Neilston Community Trust registered an interest and then purchased a former bank building, which continues to be used as a community hub and resource as well as office space. More recently, in 2014, the Arran community land initiative saw the acquisition of 79 acres to develop a community woodland on the island.
Building on successes like those, the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 provides for the extension and streamlining of the community right-to-buy process and, for the first time, urban communities will be able to use the statutory community right to buy. Through the legislation and the Government’s 1 million acre strategy, we anticipate that many more communities the length and breadth of Scotland, including in the West Scotland region, will be able to realise the many benefits of acquiring land. The revised community right-to-buy legislation comes into force on 15 April 2016.