Consultation Response
Scottish Government: Good Practice Principles
for Shared Ownership of Onshore Renewable
Energy Developments
The Law Society of Scotland’s response
June 2015
© The Law Society of Scotland 2015
Introduction
The Law Society of Scotland aims to lead and support a successful and respected Scottish
legal profession. Not only do we act in the interests of our solicitor members but we also
have a clear responsibility to work in the public interest. That is why we actively engage and
seek to assist in the legislative and public policy decision making processes. To help us do
this, we use our various Society committees which are made up of solicitors and nonsolicitors to ensure we benefit from knowledge and expertise from both within and out with
the solicitor profession.
The Energy Law Sub-committee of the Law Society of Scotland welcomes the opportunity
to consider the Scottish Government’s consultation, Good Practice Principles for Shared
Ownership of Onshore Renewable Energy Developments.
The committee has the
following comments to put forward:
General comments
Are the principles that should be followed by developers, community groups and
local authorities clearly defined?
We would first suggest that there appears to be an assumption that community groups and
their members will have a clear understanding of the development of renewable energy
projects and in particular the various models for shared ownership. Where this may be true
for some, we suggest that this will not be the case for all. We would suggest that more
clarity should be provided to promote easier access for groups who are not starting off with
a high level of specialist sector knowledge.
The level of support and guidance required, particularly for community groups, on particular
issues based on those principles, will always vary from project to project. In our view, no
single set of principles can encapsulate everything which might be relevant to every
community group, developer or project. However, at a (necessarily) high level we believe
that the principles set out in section 6 of the document provide a useful checklist of issues
to be considered as part of the design and development a shared ownership project.
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We suggest that section 8, relating to shared ownership and the planning system, may
benefit from greater clarification of the relationship between socio-economic benefits,
shared ownership and the planning system.
Do you agree with the principles as outlined in the document?
The parts of section 6 of the document, setting out expectations upon communities,
developers and local authorities provide a useful framework of issues to consider at the
outset of a project. The document also recognises the importance of specialist support
from industry organisations and specialist advisers, which we welcome.
Is the support offered through CARES, LEIF and REIF adequate to allow the
principles set out in the document to be achieved consistently?
CARES, LEIF and REIF offer useful support which can assist in achieving the principles in
the document. They are not intended to be the whole funding solution for a project but
access to the support and expertise which these bodies offer can help support the
principles.
However, although these currently offer useful support, the support available
through LEIF and REIF is now limited given that they are only available until March 2016.
Are the principles sufficient to encourage more shared ownership development that
take place in a fair, transparent way and is of benefit to communities and
developers?
Community groups should be under no illusion as to the level of input required in order to
achieve the principles set out in the document. That said, we consider that the principles
provide a useful set of issues to consider and address when a community group is
considering whether to proceed with a shared ownership proposal.
Are there further challenges to delivering shared ownership which are not addressed
in the document?
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The document has a clear purpose, which is to establish principles for interest parties to
consider in relation to shared ownership. We consider that the document is successful in
achieving this aim. It also implicitly acknowledges that principles to promote successful
shared ownership require real commitment from both the development sector and from
community groups in order to build on those principles.
Do you have any further comments on the document?
We believe that the detail set out in the document provides a welcome framework
particularly for community groups seeking to engage in a shared ownership project. We do
suggest, however, that in a number of areas including section 5 (Rationale for Shared
Ownership) there is a risk of Scottish Government policy becoming confused with objective
principles. For example, stating that shared ownership projects are encouraged because
they can be reflected in a planning application through indirect economic and social
impacts. This does not in itself evidence a compelling benefit to community ownership.
We note that the document infers that Community Groups will initiate the shared ownership
development process. In practical terms this is often not the case, with developers taking
the initial lead. We would suggest that if this point is referred to in the principles, it would
assist in encouraging community involvement at the outset.
We also note that Paragraph 9 sets out a number of shared ownership models including
split ownership, joint venture etc. However, we further note that one of the most commonly
used models for shared ownership is omitted, that of shared equity. We suggest that this
be included with a clear explanation of how shared equity can operate.
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