Land and Asset Toolkit
(following extracts taken from Scottish Governments Asset Transfer Guidance)
7.1. In the past, asset transfer has usually only been available for land or buildings which a public authority has decided to dispose of, and has decided is suitable for community use. The Act puts more power in the hands of communities by allowing them to request whatever publicly held property they believe will be most suitable to deliver their objectives.
The decision process provides for a comparison between the benefits of the community body‘s proposal and the benefits of any alternative, including the current use.
7.5. Effective asset management systems are an essential part of financial management. However, it is recognised that the ownership and boundaries of land are sometimes unclear, especially where records are old and land has changed hands by statutory powers or reorganisation of public bodies. The legislation therefore does not require Argyll and Bute Council to make checks or confirm title before publishing information in the register of land. The Scottish Government has committed to improving the accuracy of information about land ownership, and is seeking to have all public sector land included on the Land Register by 2019. The process of undertaking voluntary registration will, over time, also improve the accuracy of information held by public bodies and published in their register of land.
However, the two processes are not formally linked.
To help community bodies identify assets that may be available through asset transfer, section 94 of the Act requires each relevant authority to establish, maintain and make available a register of land which it owns or leases, "to the best of its knowledge and belief."
We are developing a user friendly set of web tools to help you identify our land and assets. This process is still under development and is not yet a complete record of all land and assets. Over time we will bring the register and tool kit up to date. We will continue to update any changes to the register on a regular basis. Please note that while the mapping tool will allow you to access information about Argyll and Bute Council land and assets, mapped assets provide an indication of the location of the asset, and are not intended to identify exact boundaries of any assets mapped.
In the mean time you can access our Land and Assets list here.
We are also developing a mapping tool that will allow you to access more detailed information about Argyll and Bute Council assets.
You can access the mapping tool here.
As part of the Act Once an asset transfer request has been made, the relevant authority is not normally allowed to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the land it relates to, to anyone other than the community transfer body that made the request, until the whole process is completed. Except when the council has started proceeding to dispose of the asset. (as detailed in sec 9.18 and 9.19)
9.18. The prohibition on disposal does not apply if, before the asset transfer request is made, the land has already been advertised for sale or lease, or the relevant authority has entered into negotiations or begun proceedings to transfer or lease the land to another person. In these cases, an asset transfer request can still be made, but it will not prevent negotiations or proceedings continuing with, or bids being made by, any other person. Making an asset transfer is not considered to be “entering negotiations” or “beginning proceedings” in this context.
9.19. There is no specific definition of ―entering into negotiations, but the relevant authority should be able to show evidence of discussions that go further than a preliminary enquiry.
To check if an asset is being actively progressed to a commercial sale follow this link www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/property-sale