Part 3A right to buy abandoned etc land and Part 5 right to buy land to further sustainable development in Scotland

Produced in partnership with Rachel Oliphant of Pinsent Masons

Practice notes

Part 3A right to buy abandoned etc land and Part 5 right to buy land to further sustainable development in Scotland

Produced in partnership with Rachel Oliphant of Pinsent Masons

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the right to buy abandoned neglected and detrimental land under (Part 3A) sections 97B–97Z of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (LR(S)A 2003) and the right to buy land for Sustainable development under (Part 5) sections 45–73 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (LR(S)A 2016).

The Scottish Government is undertaking a full review of the various community rights to buy which aims to recommend improvements, either legislative or procedural, to existing Community Right to Buy processes that will contribute to an increase in community ownership. The following timetable is proposed for the review:

•
phase 1—initial collection of evidence and views—to be completed Autumn 2024
•
phase 2—assessment and development of proposals—to be completed Spring 2025
•
phase 3—formal consultation—to be completed Autumn 2025
•
phase 4—development of proposals—completed end 2025 with a view to any legislation required being ready to introduce early in the next parliamentary session

Overview of land reform in Scotland

The

Rachel Oliphant

Pinsent Masons

Rachel is a senior practice development lawyer for the Scottish property team at Pinsent Masons and is senior tutor in conveyancing on the Diploma in Legal Practice at The University of Edinburgh. After practising as a commercial property solicitor in England (at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain) and then in Scotland (at McGrigor Donald which she joined in 1995) Rachel became one of the first property professional support lawyers in Scotland in 2001. Rachel's transactional experience was in property development particularly retail development in both England and Scotland. In her current role at Pinsent Masons Rachel is responsible for keeping the property lawyers up to date on changes in property law and market practice, creating and maintaining precedents and organising and delivering training to ensure that the lawyers in the team are fully-equipped with the necessary technical excellence and skills to deliver a commercial and efficient service to clients. Rachel is a founding member of the Property Standardisation Group which was created in 2001 by the then four leading Scottish firms to produce agreed forms of documents and procedures for Scottish commercial property transactions for the benefit of the profession as a whole. The PSG provides a valuable resource for the profession in times of rapid changes in property law and procedure. Rachel is a member of the Scottish Property PSL Group and on the Scottish Property Federation's Sustainability and Building Design committee.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Sustainable development definition

What does Sustainable development mean?

Sustainable development was defined in the World Commission on Environment and Development’s 1987 Brundtland report ´Our Common Future` as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. It seeks to reconcile economic development with the protection of social and environmental balance. In 2001, the EU adopted a strategy in favour of sustainable development, which was revised in 2006 and 2009. In 2009, the Commission highlighted the persistence of some unsustainable trends and the need for greater efforts in their regard but also the EU’s progress in mainstreaming sustainable development in many of its policies. Sustainable development formally became one of the EU’s long-term goals under Article 3 TEU.

Part 3A right to buy abandoned etc land and Part 5 right to buy land to further sustainable development in Scotland

Produced in partnership with Rachel Oliphant of Pinsent Masons