A NUMBER of readers have been in touch with queries about the ownership of plots of land and, in particular, of vacant and derelict land. According to the latest statistics, there are around 3500 sites totalling almost 11,000 hectares of such land across Scotland. Around one-third of this land has been vacant or derelict for decades and they are concentrated in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas where 55% of residents live within 500m of a derelict site.
All of these sites are now mapped by local authorities and available to view on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register held by each council.
The reasons for such land and property being abandoned varies. Some are long-standing post-industrial sites, some are the legacy of the financial crash and many are the consequence of the owners simply losing interest in the site for a variety of reasons or waiting for development potential to emerge. Around one-third of sites are owned by public authorities (mainly local councils) and the remainder are in private ownership.
Particular challenges arise where land is contaminated. One example comes from a reader in Girvan where the NHS owns land on which a health centre once stood. It was built on the site of the old town gas works but was demolished in 2015. According to South Ayrshire Council, it is contaminated and thus any development is difficult until someone picks up the bill for decontamination.
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Contaminated land poses serious challenges. Any liability by the former owner is often impossible to enforce as they don’t exist anymore as an organisation and the responsibility for cleaning up typically falls to the public sector.
If you want to find out more information about any vacant sites (or indeed any land), there are sources of information available. It’s best to ask locally first to see what is known.
For sites on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register, the council will have assembled some information. But the definitive source of ownership information is held by the Registers of Scotland (ros.gov.uk) in the Register of Sasines (established in 1617) and the Land Register (established in 1979). The latter can be searched by members of the public at scotlis.ros.gov.uk. If the land is on the Land Register, you can purchase the title.
Another reader asked about a large vacant site 200m to the north of Ibrox Stadium to the west of Broomloan Road. With many urban sites, a lot can be gleaned by speaking to local people who know the area and its history. In this case, a quick search of the Land Register reveals that it is a large site owned by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) who inherited it from the Council in the 2003 stock transfer of council housing. Three tall tower blocks once stood here and were demolished in 2013. The GHA (who have just become Wheatley Homes Glasgow) is therefore responsible for the redevelopment of this site, which is one of eight housing regeneration areas across Glasgow.
I have also been asked about the Ardeer peninsula south of Stevenston, in Ayrshire, which extends over 600 hectares and is the site of a former explosives factory established by Alfred Nobel in 1871, as well as a former ICI chemicals factory.
The site is now owned by Chemring Energetics plc, a defence manufacturer and Ardeer Regeneration Ltd. It is an outstanding site for wildlife as a result of the historic safety precautions associated with the explosives factory, but has no formal conservation designations.
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In 1953, the UK Government granted the site a Special Development Order (SDO) which means that the owners can undertake any development without the usual planning consents. The site’s future is uncertain though the Government now has powers to limit any compensation if the SDO is withdrawn thanks to an amendment to planning legislation by local MSP, Ruth Maguire.
Many sites that lie abandoned or neglected are blights on the local environment. Some, like Ardeer have actually developed into very valuable wildlife habitats and some others have clear potential for development.
Knowing who the owner is, is a vital first step in engaging with them to discuss the future. So too is using existing democratic channels to persuade councillors and MSPs to support action to restore and regenerate vacant and derelict land.
Communities also now have the right under Part 3A of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 to buy abandoned, neglected or detrimental land. The process is complicated and requires a fair bit of preliminary efforts to negotiate a sale and to engage with regulators to remedy any problems, but ultimately this provides communities with a right to buy the land, even where the landowner does not want to sell.
Do you want to find out more about a specific piece of land? Contact landdetective@thenational.scot with some brief information and pictures if possible, and Andy will do his best to investigate.
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