Time and time
again we see our legislators, who are elected to protect assets that
belong to the people, take those assets and hand them to the
corporate world, gift wrapped. Councils across the country will soon
see masses of valuable public assets disappears into the portfolio of
the rich and greedy, with the public purse receiving as little as 40p
for sites worth millions. This is thanks to the Scottish government
having another look at a bill that ran out of time in the last
parliamentary session. The cronies of the corporate world sitting in
Holyrood never give up, if they can't do the bidding of their
corporate masters in one session, then will try again in the next. This plundering of public assets is all part and parcel of the privatisation of everything and anything that is of value, part of the sustained attack on the ordinary people, making them totally dependent on the corporate world for everything from their education, libraries, public parks to health and leisure. They are your assets, were you asked if you wanted some millionaires to have them for 40p?
We are better equipped to develope these site.
The following is an
extract from, an article in the Scottish paper The Herald.
"Land
expert Andy Wightman said publicly owned property let on so called
ultra-long-term leases – with more than 100 years still to run –
could be sold to the leaseholders for a nominal sum. This would mean
assets that councils hold on behalf of citizens and protect from
redevelopment could be under threat.
Mr Wightman,
the author of Who Owns Scotland, and The Poor Had No Lawyers, said it
would affect assets such as Waverley Market – now known as Princess
Mall – in the heart of Edinburgh. It is publicly owned and shielded
from development.
The
law-change could see the 1.68 acre site sold to the current
leaseholder, former Rangers owner Sir David Murray, who would assume
ownership for a nominal sum. What happens to the prime site will set
a precedent that could affect many civic gems as about 9000 long
leases are examined in Scotland.
Mr Murray
stands to get a £50million prime city centre site for less than 40p
as a direct result of the planned law change being relaunched by the
Scottish Government. the ultra-long-term leaseholds – some last 999
years – were introduced at the end of the 18th century to encourage
industrialisation and are being modernised as they can pose legal
problems for leaseholders in developing the sites.
It
is understood Mr Murray's Premier Property Group (PPG) bought the
leasehold on Waverley Market in 2004 from developers who acquired it
in 1982. PPG is thought to have paid £37m for the lease alone. The
site brings in about £2m a year in rent from shops. The firm pays 1p
a year rent to Edinburgh City Council. The nominal sale sum for
Waverley would be based on the 1p rental deal struck with the
original developer in 1982 and if it went ahead early after the law
was changed the cost would be expected to be under 40p.---"
ann arky's home.
