Following the 12-week consultation, which opened last month, the register will remain a 'live' document, maintained by the Council as part of the Common Good. If the Council decides to sell or transfer Common Good property or consider purchasing property for the Common Good the people in Aberdeen must be consulted before the final decision is made.
The Council owns a significant number of properties that were either gifted to the former Burgh of the City of Aberdeen by King Robert The Bruce or purchased with Common Good funds held by Aberdeen City Council.
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Councillor Alex McLellan, the Convener of the Aberdeen City Council's Finance and Resources Committee, said: "Any property held as part of the Common Good is legally owned by Aberdeen City Council, and in order to meet our statutory obligations with regards to the management of these properties, we have to consider the views of the people living in the city given that they are for the benefit of everyone in the city. This also applies to the disposal of any common good assets."
The consultation is a result of Part 8 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which aims to "increase transparency about Common Good assets and community involvement in decisions taken about their identification, use and disposal".
The Act:
• Places a duty on the Local Authority to establish and maintain, after consultation, a register of property which is held by it as part of the Common Good.
• Imposes the requirement for public consultation before the disposal or change of use of a common good property.
Statutory guidance published by the Scottish Government sets out the procedure for establishing the register, and for subsequent consultations on the use of disposal of common good land.
The register could change over time, however there are strict legal processes that need to be followed when considering the disposal of Common Good property, whether it be through the change of use, selling or leasing it on the open market or via community asset transfer.
