Land Matters

Latest news on access situation in Inverleith Park

The Park Rules for Glasgow and Dundee make it explicit that any event charging money needs a Section 11 order.

The Edinburgh Access Forum noted in 2006 that the existing park rules conflicted with access legislation on 10 points.

Four years later, nothing has been done to remedy the situation and the council is still relying on 1982 legislation which, in their latest email to me they claim provides them with the same level of authority to block public acess as is provided for by the Military Lands Acts and the Railway Acts. This is patent nonsense.

What I found interesting was that the police confirmed that they would arrest me for breach of the peace if I attempted to enter the area of the park that Taste organisers have cordoned off. However, when I asked them if they would arrest the Taste of Edinburgh security guards if they attempted to block me in exercising my legal rights, they declined, saying that the organisers had reasonable grounds for enforcing a no payment, no entry policy.

Further news about the access situation at the Taste of Edinburgh event in Inverleith Park at Guardian blog posted at 1552 hours today.

Since then I have had a further response from the Council claiming that access rights are exempted under Section 6(d) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. This is getting  bit desparate. Section 6(d) relates to acts such asthose covering railways and military land. I do not (and never have) denied that the Council have the power to lease the park. I merely claim that no-one has any rights to erect fences and block public access unless the land is exempt under any part of Section 6 or unless and Section 11 order has been issued (it hasn’t). Thus the fences are unlawful and shoud be removed and no-one has any lawful right to obstruct any citizen exercising their legal rights of access across the site.

Edinburgh Council has now replied to me declining to uphold my access rights. They don’t deny I have them though. I’ve written back asking them to take action under Section 14 of the legislation (the bit about removing obstructions)

Meanwhile, follow the Guardian blog for further details. I will post the whole story once the event is over as it raises important issues about the public realm and the rights of the citizen.

I have written a piece in the Guardian Edinburgh blog today about the Taste of Edinburgh food festival taking over Inverleith Park.

 

A huge fence has been erected around the park denying the public access. On Friday, I wrote to the Chief Executive of Edinburgh Council

as follows.

Dear Mr Aitchison,

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

I am writing to you to ask that you take action in fulfilment of your duties under Section 13 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act) to “assert, keep open and free from obstruction or encroachment any route, waterway or other means by which access rights may reasonably be exercised”

This afternoon, I observed a number of people, lorries and equipment in the south east corner of Inverleith Park. A high steel fence has been erected around most of this area of the park preventing the large number of members of the public from exercising their rights of access..

The land enclosed is land over which access rights as defined in Section 1 of the Act apply.

I am unaware of any statutory grounds for blocking public access to this land. In particular, I am unaware of any exemption under Section 11 of the Act.

As a matter of urgency, could you please use your powers under Section 13 (3) of the Act to remove these obstructions.

I reserve the right to take whatever further action I deem appropriate to uphold the public right of access to Inverleith Park.

Please confirm receipt of this email and provide an early indication of your intention to carry out the duties required of the City of Edinburgh Council under Section 13 of the Act.

yours etc.

Andy Wightman

My email has been acknowledged. The Council is consulting its lawyers and I await a reply.

Good news in East Ayrshire - Council is to appoint a paralegal to investigate the common good in Cumnock, Darvel, Gaslton, Kilmarnock, Newmilns & Greenholm and Stewarton. Further details here.

Forgive me for continuing this thread on Scotland’s seabed but I’ve just caught sight of an interview on 16th March with Alex Salmond about Scotland’s marine renewables potential. Now I think that the progress made with marine renewables is very exciting but we’re not going to maximise the benefits of this industry if we don’t control our own seabed.

Alex Salmond claims that these announcements mean that “Scotland rules the waves” (0:26 min). He reminds us that his “claim that the Pentland Firth is the Saudi Arabia of tidal power is about to come to fruition” (2:47). And he goes on at some length about the benefits to local communities in the Highlands and Islands (2:54). This is all fine and dandy but why does the SNP Government not follow through the logic of its position and ensure that local communities around Scotland’s coasts control the seabed and foreshore and thus have a real stake in the development of this important industry? Why is such a valuable part of Scotland’s public land still under the control of a London based property company - the Crown Estate Commission?In the recent Independence White Paper, the Scottish Government point out that the governance of marine resources remains unsatisfactory. “Despite recent agreements the underlying fragmented nature of responsibilities does pose a risk to the successful management of marine issues, for example supporting the emerging wind and tidal energy industry in Scottish waters.” (White Paper para 5.9)In paragraph 5.15 the SNP government admits that, despite some minor changes in the relationship between the CEC and the Scottish parliament, “the more significant issue – that revenues collected from Scottish coastal businesses by the Crown Estate bring very little visible benefit to Scotland – would remain.”But Scotland’s seabed is public land under the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament - it could do something about these issues tomorrow if it wished. Why won’t it?To add to my frustration with this whole story, the Scottish Government has today published a consultation paper on the geographic areas to be included in the next round of seabed leases that will qualify for the Saltire Prize. In it, it repeats the fiction that “The Crown Estate owns virtually the entire UK seabed” (pg 2). As my post of March 18th makes clear IT DOES NOT! Why is the Government continuing to parade this fiction?