Giving power to local people
Around Scotland, people are realising the benefit of community landownership. Owning land and buildings puts communities in control of their future.
A community buyout is when a community buys land, buildings or other assets in the place where they live. It’s a process that can unleash energy in a community and which ensures that any profits stay in the local area. It allows the community to decide what they want to see happen locally. In both rural and urban areas, community landowners have been able to reverse years of decline.
WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
Communities buy a whole range of land and buildings, including rural estates, crofts, forestry and woodlands, allotments, community centres, churches, pubs, shops, housing and more. It can be:
Any Place
Any Asset
Anyone
BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY LANDOWNERSHIP
- Local people know best how to address local challenges and so are often able to develop creative solutions to intractable problems
- Community landowners have reversed depopulation in many areas by creating jobs and developing affordable housing
- Economic development- Community buyouts have been shown to increase the value and profitability of land and put more investment into local businesses
- Income and profits from community owned renewables, forestry and other assets stays within the community and helps to fund local projects
- Community ownership can save key local services such as shops and pubs; it can ensure local schools stay open, and in very remote areas can deliver stable energy supplies
- Community ownership is empowering – it increases communities’ confidence in themselves and amongst the agencies and businesses they work with
- Community buyouts have enabled the upgrading of housing, visitor centres and other local facilities -some of which have long blighted local communities
8 Steps to a Community Buyout
- Contact Community Land Scotland
- Find out about what funding is available
- Get in touch with the agencies that can support you through the journey
- Look into options:
- Some community groups go through a Negotiated Sale with the landowner. You can learn more about that process here.
- Community Right To Buy (CRtB) is a statutory route that allows communities the right to buy land when it comes up for sale
- Identify who the landowner is
- Hold a community meeting to explore the options
- If there is community support, elect a Steering Group to take forward a possible purchase
- Constitute a community body if required
- The legal structure must have open membership within a specified geographic area.
- There may be additional requirements if using CRTB or applying to the Scottish Land Fund.
- Consult with the community and gather ideas on what people want
- Write a brief for a feasibility study and a contractor who can produce it
- Register an interest in CRtB if required
- Carry out the feasibility study to determine the best and most practical ideas
- Visit other community landowners
- Write a business plan
- Carry out technical work
- Surveying land and buildings and getting contamination reports if required
- Get a valuation on the land
- To the community
- To the funders
- Get evidence that the community buy into the idea
- If using CRTB or if requested by community, carry out a ballot on the whole community to get agreement to buy the land
- Appoint advisors for the sale
- Finalise funding
- Complete the sale
YOUR COMMUNITY IS NOW A LANDOWNER!
WHERE TO START
You can contact Community Land Scotland to help you get started. Use the drop down above to see where you are on your community ownership journey.
If you are looking for some inspiration, you can also have a read of our member stories to get you started!
Already a Community Owner?
Taking ownership of land is just the beginning. Talk to us and our members about the challenges and opportunities of owning and managing assets after a buyout.
We also run events and training for post-acquisition groups. Keep an eye on our events schedule!
