Right-to-Buy Battle Moves to the Suburbs
Brian Donnely and David Ross, The Herald, 29 November 2005
CAMPAIGNERS are preparing to launch Scotland's first move to secure urban land under controversial right-to-buy legislation.
A pressure group which involves residents who successfully battled for two years against plans to open a superstore in their neighbourhood now hopes to purchase the site.
Members believe the former ScottishPower complex in the Edinburgh seaside suburb of Portobello could be replaced with "green" affordable housing as part of an attraction similar to the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Under plans unveiled last week, the Scottish Land Fund – which has been the saviour of numerous small communities in the Highlands and Islands seeking to buy their land – will be opened to groups in cities.
In the last four years, the Lottery-backed programme spent almost £13m from Harris to Gigha and across much of rural mainland Scotland. It now has been rebranded Growing Community Assets and £50m has been earmarked for the scheme – which will now be of as much interest to the people of Leith and Larkhall as those of Lewis.
The Scottish Land Fund was initially only intended to help communities of up to 3000 people, but has now been opened to the whole of Scotland.
The Portobello Energy Descent and Land Reform Group (Pedal) hopes to obtain the funding to "create a radical urban role model that other communities and cities could follow".
Eva Schonveld, spokeswoman for the group, said: "One possible future use for the land would be to establish socially affordable and ecologically imaginative housing as part of a broader sustainability centre which might include a Centre for Alternative Futures similar to the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales, or the Eden Project in Cornwall. Such a centre could create a range of new local jobs and attract a whole new form of urban ecological tourism to the area."
The campaign includes many residents who challenged a proposal to build an 80,000- sq ft supermarket in the coastal district's High Street. Local shopkeepers warned such a development would have destroyed their livelihoods.
In May, the Scottish Executive threw out plans put forward by Duddingston House Properties. But the public inquiry made clear that new proposals could still be given the go-ahead.
Patricia Ferguson, the minister for culture, media and sport, unveiled the changes to the Scottish Land Fund last week.
As part of the reorganisation of the Big Lottery Fund, a total of £275m will be invested in communities north of the border over the next three years.
A spokeswoman for Growing Community Assets said the scheme would aim to build on the work of the Scottish Land Fund. However, the changes sparked fears that rural areas might miss out as money is instead siphoned into urban areas.
Fergus Ewing, the SNP MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, said: "The Scottish Land Fund has helped maintain the momentum of community buy-outs across the Highlands since it was set up, and any attempt to shift the focus of its investment to our cities and larger urban communities will be stiffly resisted.
"They already have their pots of money for redevelopment."
Historic buyouts
Assynt
The ground-breaking buyout was the £300,000 acquisition of the 21,000-acre North Lochinver estate by the 100 crofters in Assynt in February 1993.
Borve and Annishader
21 crofters in Skye's Borve and Annishader struck a deal to buy 4500 acres for £20,000 in spring of 1993.
Melness
In November 1995, the absentee owner of the Melness estate, Sutherland, Michael Foljambe, agreed to hand over 10,700 acres to crofters.
Eigg
In 1997 Eigg islanders won control of the island for £1.5m.
Knoydart
16,000 acres came under community control in 1999.
Gigha
In 2001, the 110 people of Gigha were able to buy their island for £4m.
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