The right to buy land to further sustainable development: consultation

7. Public Notice of Application

Regulation Making Power

Section 55(4)

Background and context

On receipt of a Part 5 application, Scottish Ministers are required under Section 55(3) to give public notice of the application as soon as reasonably practicable. They must also give the date by which views are to be received by them. Section 55(4) provides that the public notice is to be given by advertisement in such a form as Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify.

Proposals

It is important that all persons who have a view on, or may be interested, materially or otherwise, in a right to buy application of any sort, have the chance to comment on it.

Section 55(3) of the 2016 Act requires Scottish Ministers to give public notice of an application, our proposals are that they do so by way of an advertisement in one or both of the following:

(a) a digital or paper edition of a newspaper circulating in the area where the community is located;

(b) a publicly accessible webpage or website maintained by Ministers for purposes which include making available for inspection any public notice of an application for consent under this regulation.

This also matches the advertisement process used for Part 2 and Part 3A, which have been developed over the years since the 2003 Act, and would provide consistency between the different rights to buy. The relevant provisions under Part 3A under can be found in section 4 of SSI 2018 No. 140, The Community Right to Buy (Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land) (Applications, Ballots and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2018: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2018/140/pdfs/ssi_20180140_en.pdf

Question 19

Do you agree with the Scottish Government's proposals above for the advertisement of Part 5 right to buy applications?

Yes / No / Partially

If you wish, please provide further details.