Consultation On The Proposed Community Empowerment - Scottish ...

5.71 The vast majority of those who answered this question were in favour: this
applied across all respondent groups apart from the very small number of
private sector responses. Those supporting the proposal referred in many
cases to the need to address derelict buildings or areas and to make better
use of these.
“Such a power would be useful for local authorities as empty
and unused non-domestic property can also lead to negative
effects on a community, including attracting anti-social
behaviour, acting as a barrier to economic growth and having
a detrimental impact on the amenity of the area.”
(East Dunbartonshire Council)
5.72 A number of the local authorities who agreed did so with some qualifications
including:
the need to exhaust negotiation first;
the fit with a regeneration strategy; and
the need to have any new responsibilities clarified (and the advantages
over existing Compulsory Purchase powers demonstrated).
5.73 Those who expressed a neutral view on the question made some further
points:
who defines what public interest is? and
if the property is in a run-down area, who will then buy or lease it from
the local authority?
5.74 Those opposing this power gave a number of different reasons for their views:
In the case of Scottish Water, some land holding was considered
necessary for operational reasons and should be excluded from any
powers. In other cases voluntary agreement with the local authority
would be preferred.
Practical implementation difficulties (raised by several local authorities).
Impact on private investment.
“This proposal would result in the council in some
circumstances acting as an estate agency. Again this would
give rise to resource implications for public bodies.... Public
sector intervention in the private sector market is a complex
and problematic area. There are issues such as high
rateable values within town centres and poor quality of
building fabric being a barrier to bringing properties into
active use during a recession.”
(Renfrewshire Council)
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