Perth Common Good Account - Moncreiffe Island and King James VI Golf Course, Perth
Perth and Kinross Council · 19 May 2025
Back to Property Sub-Committee — 19 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Property Sub-Committee Date of Meeting: 19 May 2025 Report Title: Perth Common Good Account - Moncreiffe Island, and King James VI Golf Course, Perth Report Number: 25/124 Report Author: Callum Macleod, Solicitor Organisational Lead: Strategic Lead - Legal & Governance ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 As part of the Council’s overall review of its Common Good property, an investigation has been carried out into the current status of the ground at Moncreiffe Island, Perth, which is leased by the Council to the King James VI Golf Club. 1.2 While this land has always been treated as Common Good property, for the reasons contained in this report, it is proposed that the Council formally appropriates the ground to the Perth Common Good Fund to put its status beyond doubt. 1.3 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation(s) 3. History of Moncreiffe Island/Main Issues 4. Conclusion 5. Impact and Value Assessment 6. Appendices 2. Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that the Property Sub-Committee resolves to appropriate the ground at Moncreiffe Island, Perth, leased to the King James VI Golf Club, as common good property.
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3. History of Moncreiffe Island/Main Issues 3.1 Moncreiffe Island was first acquired in 1888 by the Water Works Commissioners. The title in their favour states that the Island was acquired by them using powers derived from the Perth Water Act 1877 and the Perth Water and Gas Act 1888. 3.2 It appears therefore that the original reason for the acquisition was in connection with the Burgh’s statutory function as Water Works Commissioners. It is believed that there was a filter bed created on part of the Island to provide clean drinking water to Perth via the former water works at Marshall Place. The rest of the Island continued to be used mainly for agriculture at first. 3.3 In 1888, the Commissioners renewed the existing farmer’s lease before they secured a new agricultural tenant a few years later. By 1896, it seems that most of the Island (certainly that part leased to the farmer) was then leased to the King James VI Golf Club. The Club had relocated from the North Inch and continue to lease it from the Council to this day. The Island and the area of the allotment are shown on the plan forming the appendix to this report 3.4 Not all of the Island is used as a private golf course. The public has always been allowed access round its perimeter. The current lease to the Golf Club specifically reserves rights in favour of the general public ‘for outdoor activities such as angling, bird watching and walking.’ Part of the Island has been used as allotments since 1895. 3.5 Notwithstanding that the original acquisition was for a statutory purpose, Moncreiffe Island has long been regarded by the Council as forming part of the Common Good. It has appeared as such in the Council’s annual accounts and has done so for some considerable time. 3.6 However, land which was acquired by or transferred to a Burgh Council for a statutory purpose, such as under the Water Acts, does not form part of the common good and on that basis, the Island did not form part of the Common Good at the time of its acquisition in 1888. 3.7 If subjects originally acquired for a statutory purpose are to be moved into the category of common good, there requires to be a subsequent dedication or appropriation of those subjects to the common good. No record of a specific appropriation has been traced. 3.8 The Perth and Kinross Register of heritable common good property (i.e. land & buildings) was published as a consultative draft, in January 2023, and then in its final form in November 2023. It covers the 10 Common Good funds of Perth and Kinross and lists a total of just over 100 properties, comprising both land and buildings, together with fishing rights in Perth and in Crieff. Work is ongoing to identify the moveable common good property and it is anticipated that this information will be incorporated into the register later this year.
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3.9 When the register was nearing publication, information was uncovered concerning the acquisition of Moncreiffe Island at the end of the 19th century as outlined above, and it was identified that the common good status of the Island might be problematic. 3.10 During the latter preparatory stages of the register, the Council was assisted by Andrew Ferguson, formerly a solicitor at Fife Council and author of the textbook Common Good Law, of which a second edition was published in 2019. In 2023, a view was sought from him on the common good status or otherwise of the various parts of the Island. 3.11 Andrew Ferguson has concluded that: ➢ The Golf Course is not technically common good. This is because it was originally bought by the Water Works Commissioners for a statutory purpose and has then been used for private purposes; ➢ The allotments are not common good, having been transferred (‘appropriated’ in the words of the legislation) for another statutory purpose; ➢ The fishing rights on the Island have always been available for public use through the Council’s ownership of the land. Accordingly, the fishing rights can be said to have been dedicated to public use and therefore they are a part of the common good; ➢ The perimeter of the Island has been dedicated to a public use and is therefore common good. 3.12 Whilst this may be technically the position, it is unsatisfactory having both the fishing rights and pedestrian access around the periphery of the island as common good property but not the golf course land which makes up most of the Island. It is acknowledged that the income from the allotments should remain on the Common Good account, but this is identifiable as a separate area of activity. 3.13 Following discussions with the Council’s senior accountant on the use of common good funds, it has become clear that the golf course has always been held on the Common Good Fund for Perth. Considering its longstanding treatment as a common good asset, it would appear prudent to continue to treat it as such. This can be accomplished by a decision of the Committee to formally appropriate (transfer) the Golf Course part of the Island to the Common Good. 3.14 In keeping with the Council’s belief that the Golf Course was common good property, expenditure affecting the land has been borne by the Perth Common Good fund. In recent years, these costs have included the repairs to the steps from the railway bridge which provides access to the golf course, approximating £105,000. The formal appropriation of the golf course as part of the Perth common good property would reflect the approach taken in the accounts over these years.
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3.15 I consider that this is a unique case and, as such, it is not anticipated that a precedent is likely to be set for other sites. 3.16 Furthermore, the King James VI Golf Club have been consulted about this proposal. The Club Manager was approached recently for comment, and the comments the Council received back from the Club Manager in an email from 25 February 2025, on behalf of the wider membership group were positive about our proposal. 4. Conclusion 4.1 It is recommended that the Sub-Committee approves the formal appropriation of Moncreiffe Island including the King James VI Golf Course (but excluding the allotments) into the Perth common good account. Both the golf course and the wider island, have been considered as a common good asset for most of their time in public hands, and it would be prudent for those areas to continue to be treated as such. 5. Impact and Value Assessment Perth_Common_Good_Account- _Moncreiffe_Island_and_the_King_James_VI_Golf_Course__Perth.pdf 6. Appendices 6.1 Appendix 1 – Map of Moncreiffe Island