Increased powers for Scotland’s communities
13 Jun 2014 04:05 PM
Control of public assets
proposed.
A new law will reform existing
community right to buy and include measures to make it simpler for communities
to take over public sector land and buildings.
Published today, the Community
Empowerment (Scotland) Bill is designed to strengthen and nurture community
participation and encourage enterprising community
development.
The existing community right to
buy will be streamlined and extended to cover all parts of Scotland, both urban
areas and larger rural towns, as part of plans to have one million acres into
community ownership by 2020.
The Bill will also include
provision for communities to take over public sector land and buildings where
they can show they can deliver greater public benefit with those
assets.
Examples could include land for
community groups to grow their own food, develop play facilities for young
people or a place for older people to meet and socialise.
Rules on Scotland's local
authority allotment sites will also be simplified strengthening the duty on
councils to provide sites triggered by actual demand. The Bill will also
protect allotment sites from closure.
The Bill will also embed
Scotland’s world leading performance framework in legislation, ensuring
the Scottish Government remains focussed on improving outcomes for
communities.
Community empowerment can only
be achieved with proper support and in announcing the Bill, the Local
Government Minister also confirmed an increase in funding from the People and
Communities Fund by £1.5 million to £9.4 million per year in
2015-16.
Speaking at The Kabin, a
community owned facility in Loanhead, Midlothian, Local Government Minister
Derek Mackay said:
“This Bill is about
enabling people and communities throughout Scotland to make their own decisions
and to build their own future.
“Reforming the community
right to buy, giving urban communities in Scotland the same rights as rural
communities, and creating access to public land and buildings is a momentous
step forward.
“This legislation will
empower communities who wish to take over public land and buildings where they
think they can make better use of them than their current public sector owners
and ensure their ambitions are supported by public bodies.
“The Kabin is an excellent
example of what can be achieved with the right support. It supports around 20
organisations all working together to support over 1500 individuals of all
abilities, in the local community.
“As part of our commitment
to empowerment we have increased our People and Communities Fund by £1.5
million which means that from 2015/2016, £9.4 million will be available
annually to support community-led regeneration in our most disadvantaged
communities
“This Government believes
firmly in subsidiarity and local decision making, and just as independence can
ensure decisions about Scotland are taken by the people who care most about
Scotland, the people who live and work here, so community empowerment can
extend that opportunity to every community in Scotland."
David Cruikshank, Executive
Director of Lambhill Stables, a development trust in the North of Glasgow,
welcomed the launch of the Bill. He said:
“This Bill will allow
urban based development trusts to pursue an interest in owning land and
buildings. And working in partnership with local authorities and other public
bodies, that ownership will transform the lives and environments of their
communities”.
Commenting on the Community
Empowerment Bill, David Cameron, Chair of Community Land Scotland,
said:
“The forthcoming Community
Empowerment Bill now provides opportunities to make progress on a number of the
measures around increased community land rights in and we want to see it used
to maximum effect and welcome this opportunity.”
John Hancox, Chair of Scottish
Orchards, said:
“There is no shortage of
thoughtful and committed citizens, wanting to change Scotland for the better
– they just need to be allowed to do so – and we believe this Bill
is helpful in giving that permission.
“Our argument to Scottish
Government has been that what’s needed is a ‘community right to
grow’ akin to access rights. It makes absolutely no sense to have land,
and other assets sitting around derelict and underused, while people
can’t access and develop it.
“Our vision is of a
Fruitful Scotland where people can grow fruit and local food close to where
they live and improve their local environment, and also their health. We
welcome the way in which the Bill is framed in giving a presumption in favour
of community groups being able to access assets, unless there is a good reason
otherwise."
Jenny Mollison, committee member
of the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society, welcomed the Community
Empowerment Bill:
“There is a surge in
demand for allotment gardening with long waiting lists throughout Scotland in
urban and rural areas. The proposed legislation has the potential to bring the
provision of allotments in Scotland into the twenty-first
century.
“An overhaul of outdated
allotment laws, some of which date back to the nineteenth century, is long
overdue so that local authorities are obliged to meet the demand for
allotments.
“Alongside the nutritional
benefits of eating home-grown food, allotments provide physical exercise, green
spaces, and stress relief.”
Martyn Evans, Chief Executive of
the Carnegie UK Trust, welcomed the Bill, in particular the provision to embed
Scotland Performs in legislation:
“Placing a duty on future
Scottish Ministers to develop, consult on and publish a set of outcomes which
describe their long-term objectives for Scotland would further strengthen
Scotland’s position as an international leader on measuring
wellbeing.
“Putting Scotland Performs
on a legal footing sends out a strong signal that increasing GDP should no
longer be the sole priority of government. It allows the Scottish Parliament,
civil society and the wider public to more readily call the Scottish Government
to account on Scotland Performs and opens up new opportunities for civic debate
on national wellbeing.”
Notes To Editors
Link to Community Empowerment
(Scotland) Bill here:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/77926.aspx<
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