…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
I was quoted in the Evening news yesterday [link broken Sep 2026] 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
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Image above: 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
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
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The proposed Portobello High School (above) 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The Earl of Hopetoun, Prince Michael of Kent, The Countess of Hopetoun and Princess Michael of Kent Last night in our ScottishSix show, the topic of Lesley Riddoch’s talk was “Harpies & Quines – is this still Macho Caledonia.” It
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The following was first published as a Guest Column in the West Highland Free Press on 10 August 2012. The subject matter is one of a large number of vital topics that should be addressed by the Scottish Government’s Land Reform Review Group.
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