Consultation On The Proposed Community Empowerment - Scottish ...

5.27 Local authorities made a number of specific and practical suggestions:
“Perhaps the local authority could act as “guarantor” for the
period of use of the land to allow communities / groups to
focus on making best use of the land in the knowledge that
they would be helped to return it to a condition suitable for
future use by the landlord, where necessary.”
(Inverclyde Council)
“Inclusion of community temporary uses in the Scheme of
Delegation [published by each local authority] to improve the
efficiency of the decision making.”
(North Ayrshire Council)
“There is a reluctance on the part of local authorities to grant
temporary rights to use property (particularly for
allotment/garden type use) because of the risk of creating
rights that might be difficult to terminate. Rather than get into
a situation where there was uncertainty about whether the
local authority could clear the site to allow it to be
sold/leased, or put to a more permanent use, local authorities
have tended simply to leave the sites empty. A statutory
licence, which expressly excluded any security of tenure, and
allowed recovery of possession quickly without the need for
protracted court proceedings, would be very useful.”
(Glasgow City Council)
5.28 In the easy read version of the consultation, the more general question was
asked: would it help your community if it could use land or buildings that
owners are not using just now? Most respondents agreed that it would, with
the use of unused land for allotments or community gardens frequently cited
as an example. Many of those who were not in favour gave no reasons: those
who did tended to cite practical difficulties or the absence of suitable
opportunities in their area.
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