A REVIEW of community right-to-buy is to be carried out, the Scottish Government has announced.
It comes as Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said ministers want to see more of the country owned by local communities.
The Scottish Government said a review of community right-to-buy powers, over land or buildings, will begin this summer.
READ MORE: Highland energy boss quits SNP and joins Alba in oil and gas row
Twenty years after the right-to-buy was established for local groups, the review will look at how effective the current powers are.
It was announced as Gougeon visited the Heart of Newhaven in Edinburgh, which was bought by the local community in 2021 through an asset transfer process.
She said taking ownership of land or buildings – in either an urban or rural setting – can be a “powerful tool for communities to drive change and achieve their goals”.
Gougeon said: “We want to increase community ownership as an important way of delivering our vision for Scotland and our three central missions of equality, opportunity and community.
“This review will begin in summer 2024, following introduction of the Land Reform Bill, and report at the end of 2025 and will cover all the current rights to buy and will look at legislative and procedural aspects of the rights to see if new legislation is needed.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here