Community right to buy: Highland Council conference sets focus on land reform legislation

Community Right to Buy (CRtB) legislation set out within the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 will be in the spotlight next week at a conference being organised by The Highland Council.  The one-day event, which will focus on both community and crofting rights to buy, will take place at the Council Chambers, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, on Tuesday 23th March 2010, and is expected to attract at least 70 representatives from a range of public agencies and communities.

The purpose of the event is to consider the impact of the Right to Buy legislation, share experience of its application and discuss how the legislation could be improved in the light of that experience. The conference will also consider the support mechanisms required by communities wishing to invoke their right to buy and the potential role of publicly-owned land in promoting community ownership.

The conference programme includes a keynote address from Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Minister for Environment in the Scottish Government.  Workshop sessions will examine raising awareness of the CRtB and helping communities achieve their goals; improving the legislation; and the opportunities which publicly-owned land might offer communities.

Councillor Michael Foxley, leader of The Highland Council’s Administration, said: “Community Right to Buy legislation has already had a positive impact for communities in the Highlands but it is time now to look at how its impact might be widened.  This conference will bring together a range of organisations and individuals with directly-relevant experience – not to mention innovative ideas – and we hope it will be an important milestone on the road to seeing more community ownership in the Highlands, with all the benefits that can bring for local people.”