New legislation has been introduced which in some instances will give communities the right to buy land that is abandoned, neglected or detrimental, or which is causing harm to the community’s environmental wellbeing.

Community bodies can apply if the purchase is in the public interest and compatible with the achievement of sustainable development of the land. Applications can only be made when a community body has already attempted to buy the land or property from the owner, and failed.

All applications will be recorded in a new type of land register to be maintained by Registers of Scotland (RoS).

The Register of Applications by Community Bodies to Buy Land (RoACBL) will reflect all applications by eligible community bodies to obtain consent from Scottish ministers to a purchase of land or property that has been deemed by Scottish Ministers to be abandoned or neglected. Applications can also be made where it is considered that land or property is being used or managed in such a way as to result in or cause harm to the environmental wellbeing of a community.

All decisions relating to applications will be taken solely by Scottish Ministers, while RoS will ensure that the register is maintained and available for public inspection. The register will be free to access.

Jennifer Henderson, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, said: “Scotland became home to the world’s oldest land register in 1617, and I’m delighted that, over 400 years later, we have been entrusted with the guardianship of our 20th public register. The launch of ScotLIS last year, the strides we are making towards completion of the Land Register, and the launch of the RoACBL today, all indicate that we remain at the forefront of transparency, and ensuring that property and land are protected for the good of Scotland’s people.

“The new register will be an important resource for community bodies, solicitors, landowners, and for those with an interest in land reform.”

Commenting on the new regulations, land reform secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “Unlike existing rights to buy, this new power will allow communities to make a claim for land, even when the owner is not intending to sell it. Although some will construe this as being a sensitive issue, I want to reassure people that these regulations will only be applied in circumstances where it can be clearly demonstrated that land has lain abandoned or derelict for a significant period of time, and it would be better served by being in the hands of an interested community group. The vast majority of Scotland’s landowners are responsible, and need not worry.

“What this does mean is that communities have yet another route to take ownership of land – assuming that the circumstances are right.

“This is further demonstration of the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to community ownership, as we feel passionately that local communities should be given more say on how land in their areas is being used, and should gain more benefit from it.”

View the register here.