…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
I have today submitted written evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee on the Long Leases (Scotland) Bill. It focusses on the impact the Bill will have on common good land. Those following this matter may also be interested in
Continue readingBBC Radio Scotland’s Out of Doors programme ran a piece on “What is Scotland’s Land” for a couple of weeks ago. Apparently the whole panel were rather uncritical of the current subsidy regime. They were David Cameron (North Harris Trust),
Continue readingThe Scottish Government consultation on land registration closed on 30 November 2010. Apart from the professional classes in property and law, it received little publicity or attention from civil society in Scotland. This reflects a long tradition of legal reforms
Continue readingFollowing a European Court of Justice Ruling, the Scottish Government has removed all data on public subsidies paid to farmers from its website. The ruling stated that European legislation that obliges member states to publish data on the beneficiaries of
Continue readingLiam McArthur MSP (Orkney) has said that the Scotland Bill offers a good opportunity [link broken 2024] to devolve the Crown Estate’s power and control over Scotland’s seabed to local communities. Indeed it does. Presuming that Tavish Scott, Alan Reid,
Continue readingYesterday Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore published the Scotland Bill. What does it say about the future of Scotland’s public crown lands? First of all, it is worth remembering that the Calman Commission was nobbled by the Crown Estate Commission (CEC)
Continue readingThe Scottish Government has today launched a consultation [link broken May 2024] on proposals to enure Scotland and its local communities benefit from renewable and low carbon energy developments. This is a welcome initiative. The document makes some interesting points
Continue readingOne year ago, over 1.2 million Norwegians watched a film that was 7 hours long and that was shot by sticking a camera on the front of the train from Bergen to Oslo. It is wonderful. There’s a 10 minute
Continue readingAmidst all the press coverage of the student demonstration in London on Wednesday, one small question was niggling me as I watched the windows being smashed in Millbank Tower. Whose windows? Who owns Millbank Tower? As it happens, the same
Continue readingYesterday, the Scottish Government published its draft Long Leases Bill which is designed to convert any lease of over 175 years (with at least 100 years left to run) to full ownership. This follows a consultation earlier this year (responses
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