November 2016: Scottish Government approves HCWG application to register a community interest at Cumberland Avenue

HCWG’s application to register a community interest in the land at Cumberland Avenue was approved by Scottish Ministers on 2 November. This is the first step towards a community buy-out and it means that the landowners are now prohibited from selling to any other party than HCWG. This means we can now legitimately see ourselves as the future owners of the land and make active plans to bring this about.

Significantly, this was only the second such decision in the whole of Scotland since the ‘Community Right to Buy’ provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 were extended to urban areas in April 2016. (The first such decision was in October at Portobello, Edinburgh.)

HCWG is highly encouraged by the very positive support given in the decision letter from the Scottish Government, which stated that: “Scottish Ministers believe that, if successfully delivered, HCWG’s proposals could contribute positively to the sustainable development of the land and the local community of Helensburgh.”

David Adams, HCWG Convenor, said: “I’m delighted that our application to register a community interest in the land at Cumberland Avenue has been approved by the Scottish Government. As the next stage in our campaign to bring the land at into community ownership, we will soon be holding a public consultation event to enable the local community draw up detailed plans for the future of the site.”

HCWG expects to hear the outcome of the related application at Castle Woods, Helensburgh around Christmas.

Download a copy of the Scottish Government’s decision here.
Ministers back community buy-out plan for Helensburgh woodlands
Scottish Ministers approve community buyout bid for Cumberland Avenue