Abandonment of Land and the Scottish Coal Case: was it Unprecedented?
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2018.0490 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| Pages | 301-306 |
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Author |
Owners of land do not usually wish to abandon it. Land is scarce and is normally a valuable commodity. It seems strange that there might be circumstances where someone would seek to relinquish a slice of Scotland in exchange for no benefit. Notwithstanding, the liquidators of a landowner recently tried to do this in relation to certain sites that had been used for coal mining. In the
As we shall see, the case prompted some useful contemporary commentary, which this note will develop. It will also seek to analyse one specific and as yet unaddressed point raised in the course of proceedings. Both the Outer and Inner Houses recognised that there was a distinct lack of authority as regards the abandonment of land. As Lord Hodge stated, “Counsel were not able to find any authority which supported the idea that an owner could abandon land in Scotland”.
The Scottish Coal Company Limited owned sites used for open-cast mining in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Fife. When the court ordered the winding up of the company, the petitioners were appointed as joint liquidators. Several sites or part-sites remained unsold. The cost of future compliance with environmental regulation with regard to these sites was estimated to be around £478,000 per month.
The question of central importance in this note was whether the liquidators could disclaim (abandon) ownership of the land.
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