October 5, 2016
The urban challenge
What next for land reform? That was the question posed by Community Land Scotland at its recent conference in Edinburgh and Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for land reform, made it clear that while good progress has been made, the journey is far from over. She identified one of the major challenges for the future as being how to take land reform into urban areas. This was one of the big issues highlighted by the Land Reform Review Group. Worth revisiting what was said back then as a useful starting point.
In May 2014, the Land Reform Review Group submitted its final report to the Scottish Government. The First Minister announced in November 2014 that the Government would consequently bring forward a Land Reform Bill, which was published in June 2015 and subsequently passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The Land Reform Act concentrates mainly, but not exclusively, on rural aspects of land reform. Alongside this, the Scottish Government is currently undertaking a consultation programme on the recommendations made by the LRRG for urban land reform. These have potential fundamentally to change the operation of urban land markets in Scotland. If adopted, they could have significant impact on planning, housebuilding and real estate development across Scotland.
To help people better understand the LRRG’s proposals for urban land reform, Policy Scotland is publishing seven briefing papers summarising their key elements. These papers have been prepared by Professor David Adams who acted as an independent adviser to the LRRG. For more information, please contact Professor Adams at david.adams@glasgow.ac.uk
Briefing Paper No. 1: Compulsory Sale Orders
Briefing Paper No. 2: Housing Land Corporation
Briefing Paper No. 3: Majority Land Assembly
Briefing Paper No. 4: Public Interest Led Development
Briefing Paper No. 5: Statutory Rights of Pre-Emption
Briefing Paper No. 6: Urban Partnership Zones
Briefing Paper No.7: Scottish Government Response to Sounding Board Report