Scotland has a long history of community landownership. We are celebrating 100 years since the first buyout
The priorities for urban land reform going forward need to reflect the interest in, and potential of, urban community landownership, and in land delivering more for the people of Scotland. There is a significant risk of community landownership being yet another policy applied from elsewhere to urban communities, not something which comes from the communities themselves. There is also a risk of land reform focusing on big urban policy issues like land assembly, or large Derelict Sites, which are important but in which most communities have little say, or stake, in. Community-led approaches should be fundamental to making more of Scotland’s urban land—we have the framework to do this, and the interest is there. Otherwise concentrated power, inequality and wealth extraction are built into the future.
Refinements to the processes, like Community Right to Buy, are needed and appropriate at this stage in the sector’s development. Difficult questions need to be asked about how policies and projects are foisted on communities, and how we can move towards a system which responds better to communities.
As we improve processes, we also need bring communities to the table as equals. Slow and unequal progress by community groups means enduring support is needed, and we need to improve processes to be more inclusive. We need to meet communities where they are, listen and support them as they explain their vision for their local area, and give them the resources to make this happen.