Communities encouraged to explore new asset legislation

The Community Development Company of Nesting has now taken ownership of the old Nesting school to transform it into a multi-use facility after securing funding.

The asset transfer was enabled through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and it was the first time the council had gone through the process.

It allows community bodies to make requests for buildings or land owned by public organisations if they feel they can make better use of it.

Community planning partnership officer Brendan Hall said the “door is always open” for groups to have informal discussions with the council if they feel they could benefit from the legislation.

“We’re happy to talk to any groups that are interested in this,” he said.

“The approach we’ve got is based on informal dialogue and what we generally say is that if there are groups that are interested then they should get in touch with their local community worker.

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“The opportunity is there for community groups via the legislation, and it does recognise that there are benefits to community ownership.

“There’s obviously responsibilities that go along with the new rights, and there are eligibility criteria that need to be satisfied.

“It’s about improving outcomes in communities and the use of the asset could be closely aligned with those outcomes.”

Contact details of Shetland’s local community workers are available online here.

The first asset transfer in Shetland under the new law took place earlier this year when Unst Partnership acquired a unit in Baltasound it had previously leased from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

It turned the space into a recycling facility and second-hand shop after it received money from the Scottish Land Fund.