Part III Control over Development

Other controls over development

75DF1Good neighbour agreements

1

A person may, by agreement with a community body, enter into an obligation governing operations or activities relating to the development or use of land, either permanently or during such period as may be specified in the agreement.

2

A body is a community body for the purposes of subsection (1) if—

a

it is the community council for an area in which is situated any part of the land to which the agreement relates, or

b

it has been notified by the planning authority for the area in which is situated the land to which the agreement relates that, in the opinion of the authority, it is—

i

a body which falls within subsection (3), or

ii

a trust which falls within subsection (4).

3

A body falls within this subsection if—

a

its members have a substantial connection with the land to which the agreement relates, and

b

the object, or function, of the body (or, as the case may be, one of its objects or functions) is to preserve or enhance the amenity of the neighbourhood in which is situated any part of the land to which the agreement relates.

4

A trust falls within this subsection if—

a

its trustees have a substantial connection with the land to which the agreement relates, and

b

the object, or function, of the trust (or, as the case may be, one of its objects or functions) is to preserve or enhance the amenity of the neighbourhood in which is situated any part of the land to which the agreement relates.

5

An agreement entered into under subsection (1) may be referred to as a “good neighbour agreement”.

6

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), an obligation entered into under that subsection may—

a

require operations or activities specified in the agreement to be carried out in, on, under or over the land, or

b

require the land to be used in a way so specified.

7

The obligation—

a

may be unconditional or subject to conditions,

b

may require the provision to the community body of information regarding the development and use of the land to which the agreement relates, and

c

is not to require the payment of money.

8

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (7)(a), the agreement may provide for the postponement of the effectiveness of the obligation to a date specified in the agreement (whether the specification is of a fixed date or of a date determinable by reference to the occurrence of an event).

9

A good neighbour agreement to which the owner of the land is party may be recorded in the Register of Sasines or, as the case may be, registered in the Land Register of Scotland; and if the agreement is so recorded or registered then the obligation is (unless the agreement provides that only the person entering into that obligation is to be bound by it) enforceable at the instance of the community body—

a

against the owner of the land in so far as the obligation comprises a requirement mentioned in subsection (6), and

b

against—

i

the owner or tenant of the land, or

ii

any other person having the use of the land,

in so far as the obligation comprises any other requirement.

10

But no such obligation is enforceable against a third party who has acquired right to the land (whether or not that person has completed title) prior to the agreement being so recorded or registered.

11

In this section, “owner” has the same meaning as in section 75.

12

For the purposes of subsection (9) it is immaterial whether the person who is owner of the land when the agreement is recorded or registered was owner when the obligation was entered into.