Part 5 of the 2016 Act creates a process by which local, place-based communities can seek to acquire a right to buy land to further the achievement of sustainable development in relation to that land. Where an application is successful, the right to purchase the land applies even where the owner of the land is not willing to sell it.

It is therefore, like Part 3A of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land), a form of compulsory purchase. Part 5 of the 2016 Act is currently not in force.

Part 5 of the 2016 Act contains a number of regulation making powers. They allow Scottish Ministers to make regulations about a number of matters that relate to Part 5.

The main purpose of the consultation is to explain the Scottish Government’s proposals for how it will use these regulation making powers, to present a broad outline of how Part 5 will work once it is in force, and to give people the opportunity to put forward their views on these proposals.

In addition to the regulation making powers connected with some of the procedural conditions, there are several other regulation making powers contained in Part 5. These include powers to specify types of land and tenant’s interests which are not eligible for purchase under Part 5, and regulations for governing community ballot processes.

The consultation paper sets out the government’s proposals for how it will use these regulation making powers and also explains the regulation making powers that it does not believe need to be used at present.

The consultation closes on September 19.