Committee
Public Petitions Committee, 25 Feb 2003
25 Feb 2003 · S1 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
New Petitions
Abandoned Properties (PE602)
David Cleghorn (Dedridge Community Council):
Watch on SPTV
Thank you for allowing us to address the committee on our petition. This is the first time that two of us have been to the Parliament, and it has been interesting to watch the proceedings this morning. On my right is Councillor Danny Logue, the councillor for Dedridge. I am the secretary of Dedridge community council. On my left is Rosalie Walton, who lives in Dedridge in close proximity to an abandoned house. On my far left is Douglas Marr, who works in the housing department of West Lothian Council.Dedridge, where we come from, is a densely populated, mixed-tenure housing estate on the south side of Livingston. The population of Dedridge is more than 7,500 people in an area that is one mile by half a mile. Most of our houses are terraced houses, and any house that becomes vacant—for whatever reason—is immediately noticeable. Any house that lies vacant for a long time can attract all kinds of problems, including vandalism, upset to neighbours, rodents and environmental problems.Over a number of years, the community council has heard of several instances of private properties—former council houses that were purchased by individuals and sold on—being abandoned and lying empty for several years. Folk have, rightly, asked us why that has happened and we have reported those cases to the council. However, the council has told us that it does not have the power to do anything about those properties; ergo, we have unhappy people and an unhappy community. That is why we have come here today.Our petition is simple and sets out our understanding of the situation. Our colleagues from the council will keep us right on why they want the procedures and the application of the law to be changed. It seems that the council does not have the power to purchase the abandoned properties compulsorily under the rules that currently apply. The purpose of our petition is to get that power transferred from the Scotland Office to the Scottish Executive and for the Executive then to devolve the power to local authorities so that they will be able to exercise it when they have exhausted every other avenue in respect of the empty properties.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
The next petition is PE602, from David Cleghorn, on behalf of Dedridge community council. The petition calls on the Parliament to take the necessary steps to...
David Cleghorn (Dedridge Community Council):
Thank you for allowing us to address the committee on our petition. This is the first time that two of us have been to the Parliament, and it has been intere...
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
I am very interested in the petition. What are the reasons for people abandoning their properties? I understand that that happens quite often and that privat...
David Cleghorn:
Danny Logue will answer that question. He is the chair of the council's housing appeals special sub-committee.
Councillor Danny Logue (West Lothian Council):
I have received many complaints from members of my community regarding abandoned properties. One such property was repossessed four years ago after it had ca...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
That gives me a nice lead-in for my question. What has been your experience of trying to get the Scotland Office to act by using its existing power? Does the...
Councillor Logue:
We had a couple of houses of a similar nature—one in the same street and a couple in other communities in West Lothian. I know from having downloaded informa...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
The point that I am trying to make is that you currently have the capacity to refer such matters to the Scottish ministers to make a compulsory order. Have y...
Councillor Logue:
We must follow certain legal guidelines first. We have never been able to reach the starting blocks. We must follow the legislation and consider the owner. W...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
So you never reach the point at which you have everything in place to—
Councillor Logue:
We cannot pass go.
The Convener:
Lab
The housing legislation that governs the matter and the guidelines that must be followed before a compulsory purchase order can be requested must predate dev...
Douglas Marr:
It is the consolidated housing legislation and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001; the previous legislation was probably the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966. Our pr...
The Convener:
Lab
Before Phil Gallie says something, I would like to clarify a matter. Have Scottish Executive ministers given any indication that they want to retain the powe...
Douglas Marr:
I think that this is our first journey through the process.
Councillor Logue:
The legal opinion that we have received from the Scottish Executive is that the matter that we are discussing still comes under the old legislation, but ther...
Phil Gallie:
Con
The problem exists not just in areas where there are council houses; it also exists with business premises and old private properties in particular. Has West...
Douglas Marr:
On the shortage of accommodation, there is a great housing need—
Phil Gallie:
Con
I am not thinking about accommodation shortages. You have identified a real problem. Have West Lothian Council or COSLA discussed the matter? Have they made ...
Douglas Marr:
I am not aware of any representations.
Phil Gallie:
Con
Would that be a good starting point? I am surprised that representations have not been made before.
Councillor Logue:
When we investigated the legislation, we were surprised by how hard it is to purchase a property compulsorily—in fact, doing so is almost impossible. We came...
Phil Gallie:
Con
You mentioned the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. We parliamentarians had a chance recently to consider housing issues, but the issue that we are discussing see...
Councillor Logue:
It was presumed that the empty homes initiative would address the problem, but it has not.
David Cleghorn:
I would like to make one point on behalf of the community. We elected you people. This issue is causing major problems where we live. The community, which is...
Rosalie Walton (Dedridge Community Council):
I would like to add something on behalf of those who live in the conditions described. I am an environmentalist by profession, and people's environment is no...
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
About eight or nine years ago, a scheme was instituted in London to recover abandoned private property. A helpline was set up so that the public could shop a...
Councillor Logue:
We understand that, but we find that when we locate the owners they do not want to do anything about their houses. They point-blank refuse. They say that the...
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
London put some teeth behind the scheme. I cannot remember exactly how it was done, but the people working on it did not just want to have a list of abandone...
Councillor Logue:
Dedridge community council could tell people that they have six months, for example, to do certain things to a property or we will compulsorily purchase it. ...