The latest twist in the tortuous proceedings of the Pairc buy-out
has occurred. The Court of Session in Edinburgh has ruled that the
community buy-out plans do NOT, as alleged by landowner Barry Lomas,
infringe the landowner’s human rights. The next step in this seemingly
endless wrangle will be a ruling by a sheriff at Stornoway Sheriff Court
whether the ballot by the community in South Lochs on the proposed
buy-out was flawed, or not. This is expected to happen in January.
The buy-out relates to unoccupied common land, away from the villages
on the Pairc peninsula. In itself, this is not worth a lot, but a
proposed windfarm could propel its value (currently unknown) into the
millions of pounds.
A vote to investigate the possibility of mounting a community buy-out
of the Pairc estate was taken in November 2004. A ballot in favour of
mounting a hostile buy-out bid was taken in December 2009, making it the
first instance of a hostile buy-out under the right-to-buy legislation,
enacted in 2003.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Monday, 17 December 2012
Stòras Uibhist
In the 16 years that I have taken a more than passive interest in
community land buy-outs, starting with the Isle of Eigg in 1996/7, I
have never seen such a ludicrous situation as what has arisen in South
Uist in recent times.
I refer to the article on Hebrides News for details.
The purpose of this blogpost is to question the use (and I have difficulty not prefixing “use” with the letters M, I and S) of the staggering amount of two hundred thousand pounds in legal fees to resolve a dispute between Stòras and a crofting tenant.
Rather than come to a private, amicable settlement, things had to go to court. That happens, also in Lewis, where I am based. Even close relatives take each other to court over land issues, and senior law practitioners get involved in those too. However, Stòras is a landowner, who had a dispute with one of its tenants.
Nonetheless, I question the use of this vast sum of money in legal fees, in spite of a local petition (which went round the estate in 2010) to drop the action.
This sordid episode marks a low point in the modern history of community buy-outs, in my opinion.
I refer to the article on Hebrides News for details.
The purpose of this blogpost is to question the use (and I have difficulty not prefixing “use” with the letters M, I and S) of the staggering amount of two hundred thousand pounds in legal fees to resolve a dispute between Stòras and a crofting tenant.
Rather than come to a private, amicable settlement, things had to go to court. That happens, also in Lewis, where I am based. Even close relatives take each other to court over land issues, and senior law practitioners get involved in those too. However, Stòras is a landowner, who had a dispute with one of its tenants.
Nonetheless, I question the use of this vast sum of money in legal fees, in spite of a local petition (which went round the estate in 2010) to drop the action.
This sordid episode marks a low point in the modern history of community buy-outs, in my opinion.
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