Briefing on Part 5 of Community Right to Buy and the Poets Neuk Case

On 25th April 2025, the Dundee Sheriff’s Court rejected an appeal by Forthtay Ltd against a Scottish Government decision in January 2024 to grant consent for the exercise of the Community Right to Buy to Further Sustainable Development (Part 5 introduced by the Land Reform Act 2016).

This decision means that unless there is a further appeal, the parcel of derelict land in St Andrews will be sold to the community group, Poets Neuk, against the wishes of the absentee landowner, to enable them to create a public poetry garden.

This briefing considers the legal significance of the case as well as the implications for the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill 2025.