Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Edinburgh - Briefing Document Eighteen

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Parliamentary Officer:Rev Graham Blount
Phone:
0131 558 8137

Briefing Document No 18 - Page 2 of 4

For All of Scotland? - Continued.

2. Which Community?
Previously, membership of a community body was to be focussed on those who live or work on the land in question, but this has now been recognised as unduly restrictive. The draft Bill defines a community as normally comprising all those on the electoral roll for the polling district or districts in which the land is situated, but leaves room for ministerial discretion on this, and on registration of interest in "nearby land in which a community body is able to demonstrate a direct community interest". Ministers have rejected extension of these proposals to "communities of interest" such as environmental bodies.

3. What Kind of Community Body?
Despite concerns about the cumbersome nature of the process, interest in a piece of land may only be registered by a community body which has formed itself into a trust, or a company limited by guarantee. The body must show that it is genuinely representative of the community; it must have at least 30 members, amongst whom community members must form a voting majority; there is no requirement for a length of residency (since this is considered discriminatory); and 10% of the community must support the registration of interest. In "exceptional circumstances" Ministers have discretion to allow a community body to register an interest after land has come on the market. The community body's aims must be "compatible with the sustainable development of the land", but the draft Bill rejects the idea that bodies should have to give evidence of their financial viability. 4. When Does The Right To Buy Apply?
Properly speaking, this is a right of "pre-emption", to buy the land only when it is on the market ie at the time of any proposed transfer for value. It does not apply when title is transferred by inheritance (which, the Executive believe, would result in compensation claims under ECHR). When a sale is proposed, there must be a community majority in favour of the sale, in a ballot in which 50% of the community vote. In every case, Ministers must be satisfied that sale to the community body would be in the public interest. 5. Other Issues
Within the overall consultation, specific comments are invited on
1. drafting of the provisions re sporting rights;
2. provision when the owner of land cannot be traced;
3. ministerial discretion to waive some of the conditions for registration;
4. circumstances in which late registration would be allowed and sale prohibited to give time for community action;
5. how avoidance of the provisions can be addressed;
6. how "market value" is arrived at;
7. how these provisions interact with other rights;
8. grounds of appeal re registration of interest;
9. possible new role for the Lands Tribunal;
10. protection against fraud. Crofting Right To Buy
Special provisions will apply in crofting communities, where, crucially, the right to buy can be exercised without the land in question coming on to the market. The Scottish Crofters Union has raised concerns that these proposals are designed more as an addition to the wider community right than as an extension of crofters' existing rights, and is also unhappy that the definitions of "crofting community" and "crofting township" could mean that crofters themselves may be in a minority in deciding ownership and management of their land. Landowners have reservations about "a forced sale against the owner's wishes".