Land Matters

Following the confirmation by the Treasury Committee that the Crown Estate Commissioners (CEC) do not own the seabed around Scotland (Scotland has always owned the seabed though it is “administered” and “managed” by the CEC), a key question arises - how much is it worth? If the Scottish Parliament were to abolish the Crown rights in the seabed what kind of revenues might be anticipated? What might a Scottish marine renewables sovereign fund look like?

I don’t have access to the rental agreements signed by the CEC but I found a report in the Times in 2008 in which industry insiders claim that the sums could be around £100 million per year - and that’s for offshore wind alone. It does not include wave, tidal, carbon storage or subsea cabling. The Scottish share of wind is probably only 20% or so according to this map from CEC but including the other developments, we are talking about hundreds of millions of pounds.

The Daily Mail claimed earlier this year that plans for gas storage under the North Sea are being delayed because of “excessive demands” from the CEC.

I have been contacted by an SNP MSP who describes my criticism of the Scottish Government as “not fair” and that the CEC is “work in progress”. I don’t buy this. Back in March 2008, the SNP’s Westminster Energy spokesperson Mike Weir was complaining that the fees generated by the CEC represented a “clear power grab” which the “SNP will oppose tooth and nail”

But that was 2 years ago and since then, Alex Salmond and his government had been cosying up to the CEC when they could, instead, have abolished these Crown rights and stand now to set the terms of this marine bonanza that will make Scotland “the Saudia Arabia” of renewables. What’s more, all the evidence and facts were set out in December 2006 when the Crown Estate Review Working Group published its authoritative report.

I don’t know much about Saudia Arabia but I bet all the revenues from their oil deposits don’t head off to Tel Aviv or Cairo!

Interesting announcement today by the English Housing and Planning Minister, John Healey. He proposes that Parish Councils be given powers to build affordable housing by extending the scope of permitted development rights. Individual planning applications would not be needed for amaximum of 10-15 houses where the Parish Council backs the development.

This is quite radical.

Of course it is only possible because England still has a local level of “local” government. Parish Councils in Scotland were abolished in 1930 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 and Town Councils were abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

It is time to resurrect these vital levels of local democracy so that the parishes, towns and villages of Scotland can play a proper role in local development.

Good coverage of Treasury Committee report in the Herald on Saturday.

Front page story

Inside feature (please note that paragraphs 4 and 5 should NOT have quotation marks)

Editorial

5 April Follow up piece on Herald website (Dated 4 April)

The Scottish Government has just published its consultation paper on legislation to reform long leases and allows for their conversion into full ownership. This follows up the Scottish Law Commission’s Conversion of Long Leases report (No. 204, 2006  - copy available from their website).

This is a signficiant reform but not without some particular problems which I hope to discuss soon.

For the last few years a growing number of people have been calling for the easing of the complex and restrictive licensing terms imposed by the Ordnance Survey for use of their digital maps. I have had my own horror story with them over the use of maps on the Who Owns Scotland website.

The Government has announced that at long last these restrictions will be lifted for some important datasets. All credit to the Free Our Data campaign and Charles Arthur who have led this fight. Data available at Ordnance Survey OpenData (link to be added as their server is overloaded!)

BUT, it does not include the 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 digital maps needed for the Who Owns Scotland website which will still cost me over £10,000 per year! So, no improvement on the existing 1930s one inch and quarter inch mapping I’m afraid which is a big disappointment. Full details of the proposed changes in the government’s response here.

Good to hear Professor James Lovelock who, at 90, is still making us think.

“trying to save the planet is a lot of nonsense”

I’ve always thought that.