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Andy Wightman Profile picture
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Mar 5 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The Welsh proposals are still pretty modest & allow those who can afford it to continue buying 2nd homes when many locals don’t have first ones. 1/3
Mind you they are better than ongoing prevarication by @scotgov as illustrated my this meaningless exchange this week. (SNP policy at election was to adopt the planning policy of an English town council which is ineffective) 2/3
The most important reform is to make 2nd homes a change of use in planning law & for planning authorities to have strong housing pressure policies to allow refusals. This is not difficult & I’m fed up of arguing for it and nothing happening 3/3
PS The “meaningless exchange” referenced in 2nd tweet is this

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More from @andywightman

Andy Wightman Profile picture
Mar 7
Here are some of the land & property owned offshore & acquired before Dec 2014 in Scotland where the beneficial owners will not be required to register in the new Register of Beneficial Owners in the Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Bill 1/17
Ardfin Estate, Jura owned by Ardfin Lodge Ltd (Jersey) registered in LR Nov 2010 2/17 Image
Strathfillan Forest owned by Thar Enterprises (Jersey) registered in Land Register June 1999 3/17
Read 18 tweets
Andy Wightman Profile picture
Mar 7
The Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Bill is being rushed through House of Commons today. It includes establishmenrt of Register of Overseas Entities that own property in UK. 1/4 bills.parliament.uk/bills/3120/pub…
Such entities have to make a verified declaration of the beneficial owners 1/4 However, the obligation to register is backdated to only Dec 2014 for land & property in Scotland. This is crazy. 2/4
The vast majority of overseas owners (including oligarchs like Lisin) acquired their land before Dec 2014) If not amended (& there are no amendments to this effect), then the vast majority of offshore ownership will remain unverified and undeclared under this Bill. 3/4 Image
Read 5 tweets
Andy Wightman Profile picture
Mar 3
THREAD - LAND, TAX, & OLIGARCHS

I remember being ridiculed by a senior SNP MSP for suggesting that the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) which provides 100% relief from local rates benefitted some very rich people. Well here’s an example. 1/7
As highlighted in @ScotNational today, Vladimir Lisin is the beneficial owner of Aberuchill Estate. The estate is owned by Forestborne Ltd. registered in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. 2/7 thenational.scot/politics/19961…
Lisin is an oligarch who secured control of much of Russia’s metal industries and is worth c. £20 billion. The estate is managed by Aberuchill Management Ltd., a company registered in Scotland with its offices at Orchard Brae House, EDINBURGH. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Andy Wightman Profile picture
Mar 1
THREAD Ownership of land and property by entities registered in secrecy jurisdictions has been a problem for decades. My view is that such entities should be barred from owning property in Scotland. But they continue to be allowed. 1/12
To increase transparency of such entities (and others such as Trusts, and Partnerships), the Scottish Parliament passed regulations to establish a “Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land” this comes into force on 1 April 2/12 legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/85/co…
It will require such entities to declare who has a controlling interest. They have a year to comply. Failure to comply or to declare truthfully is an offence punishable with a fine of £5000. There is no requirement for any verification of the declaration 3/12
Read 12 tweets
Andy Wightman Profile picture
Feb 28
I was not aware that SNP policy is to ban SLPs. If that happens, the advantages of limited partnerships will be denied to Scottish businesses. Instead, there needs to be an overhaul of governance 1/4
SLPs could, for example be deprived of legal personality (bringing them into line with English ones), could be barred from having non-UK domiciled partners and could be required to provide more fullsome annual reporting 2/4
Critically, however, this is not just a UK responsibility. The Herald revealed in 2017 that 60% of SLPs have not filed ownership information. 3/4 heraldscotland.com/news/15526548.…
Read 4 tweets
Andy Wightman Profile picture
Feb 7
THREAD Delighted to have my first piece in the Land Detective series published in the @scotnational This is a short thread with some further background. 1/6 thenational.scot/politics/19903…
First of all, the name (advice from Gaelic scholars welcome). I used Allt-na-Ruighe in my submitted piece but its been edited to the name it is commonly known as - Allt-na-Reigh. I believe the former is correct (burn of the slope or pasture land) but views are welcome! 2/6
The property has a long association with mountaineering in Glencoe moat prominently through it being the home and workshop of Hamish McInnes. This superlative image ©John Cleare (my copy from the book MacInnes) is a stunning portrait of HM in his workshop at Allt-na-Ruighe. 3/6
Read 6 tweets

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