…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
I do not know whether Portobello Park forms part of the common good of the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh. Portobello Park Action Group (PPAG) do not know whether the Park is common good and the City of Edinburgh
Continue reading
Pictured: Holy Cross High School, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. The fallout from the Court of Session decision on Portobello Park rumbles on (see previous posts). The ruling that Edinburgh Council cannot “appropriate” (i.e. use for another purpose) inalienable common good land exposes
Continue reading
I was quoted in the Evening news yesterday as arguing that if the people of Portobello decide that Portobello Park is the best site for a new school, then the Court of Session ruling could be countered by a “Private
Continue reading
The town where I grew up. Kinross Town Hall forms part of the common good of the people of Kinross and yet lies derelict and abandoned due to the incompetence of Perth & Kinross Council. I have received a number
Continue readingNeil King (a retired lawyer) has drafted a bill – the Local Government Amendment (Common Good) (Scotland) Bill – to amend the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to remedy what he considers to be a deficiency in the drafting of
Continue reading
The proposed Portobello High School The fallout from the Portobello Park decision (see previous post) has got me thinking. For a long time I, along with others, have been working to secure better protection for common good land and property
Continue reading
Lady Paton handed down a dramatic decision of the Inner House of the Court of Session today and ruled that Edinburgh Council does not have the legal authority to build a new school on Portobello Park. This has been a
Continue reading
Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers with Professor James Mirrlees 2nd from right. The Scottish Government has been consulting on a replacement for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – one of the devolved taxes in the Scotland Act 2012. The consultation
Continue reading
Pictured with Richard Lochhead At the Old Bank in Neilston are Board members of the Land Reform Review Group left to right are Dr Sarah Skerratt, Dr Alison Elliot (Chair), and Professor James Hunter. The Scottish Government today announced the
Continue reading
Lesley Riddoch and I enjoyed a packed session at the Nordic Horizons meeting on huts at the Festival of Politics this morning and the talk turned to how huts can be part of a revolution. Something of what this could
Continue reading