Disposal of Common Good Moveable Property at 1-5 High Street, Perth
Perth and Kinross Council · 5 May 2025
Back to Perth Common Good Fund Committee — 5 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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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Perth Common Good Fund Committee Date of Meeting: 5 May 2025 Report Title: Disposal of Common Good Moveable Property at 1-5 High Street, Perth Report Number: 25/108 Report Author: Callum Macleod Organisational Lead: Strategic Lead, Legal and Governance ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The Report asks the Perth Common Good Fund Committee to approve the sale of a number of items of Moveable Common Good property, which have been stored in the Council premises at 1-5 High Street, Perth for a considerable period of time. 1.2 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation(S) 3. Background/Main Issues 4. Impact Value Assessment 5. Appendices 2. Recommendation(s) It is recommended that the Committee:- 2.1 Note, and take account of, the responses from the Consultation carried out under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 as set out below; 2.2 Approves the sale and disposal of the items annexed to the report. It is the Officers’ recommendation that these items are disposed of by way of an auction. Failing sale by auction, it is recommended that these items are disposed of in the appropriate manner.
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2.3 Taking account of the responses from the Consultation, approves the retention of the two crested chairs. It is the Officer’s recommendation that these items are retained in either the Council’s Law Library or Chambers. 3. Background/Main Issues 3.1 Historic Information/Context 3.1.1 Under the terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, every local authority in Scotland is duty bound to prepare and publish a comprehensive register of all Common Good assets within their ownership. 3.1.2 Common good assets form part of the heritable (land and buildings) and moveable (paintings, furniture, etc.) property that belonged to the former Burghs of Scotland. Common Good assets are owned by the local authority, although administered separately from other local authority funds for accounting purposes. 3.1.3 Following the recent production of the Common Good Land Register and map of heritable assets, we are now looking to extend the register to cover Moveable Common Good Property with a draft register to be published later this year. It has, however, come to our attention that we are in possession of several items of furniture at the Council’s premises at 1-5 High Street which are likely to belong to the Common Good. Some of these items are considered to have cultural significance, whilst others have either limited or no value to the Common Good. Neither the Council nor Culture Perth & Kinross have sufficient room to continue to store this furniture, most of which has been stored in the present location since 1996. Accordingly, consideration is being given to the other options, most obviously, disposal or transfer to organisations who may have a use for them. 3.1.4 A photographic inventory of these items, together with a note of their condition, is available as an annexation to this report. 3.1.5 The property proposed to be sold is accepted as having Common Good status. Accordingly, the Council was required to consult on the proposed sale terms in terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, with a view to capturing the opinions of the community in the decision-making process. This consultation ran on the Council’s Consultation Hub page for 8 weeks between the 16 September 2024 and 18 November 2024. Two responses were received. 3.1.6 One response from a member of the public indicated that they wanted the Council to retain the ten Baillies’ chairs. Having reviewed this further with Culture Perth and Kinross, they have confirmed that they have no storage space available for these chairs. It is their view that these items should be sold.
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3.1.7 The other response received was from a Councillor of this Council. Their response indicated that at least one of the crested chairs should be retained and the others sold to the highest bidder. 3.1.8 Taking account of the responses received, it is recommended that the two crested chairs are retained, and the other remaining items are sold at auction. 3.2 Options Available to Elected Members/Board members 3.2.1 Firstly, the Committee may approve the sale and disposal of the items annexed to the report. It is the Officer’s recommendation that these items are disposed of by way of an auction, subject to the retention of two Baillie’s chairs. It is the Officer’s recommendation that these two chairs are retained, possibly in either the Council’s Law Library, the Chambers or its ante room. Failing sale by auction, it is recommended that the items marked for sale are disposed of in the most appropriate way, including both sale through other means and donating to a good cause. 3.2.2 Secondly, the Committee may elect to dispose of all of the items, including the two crested Baillie’s chairs. The responses from the Consultees have indicated a desire to retain at least the chairs, so the Committee should bear that in mind when coming to a decision. 3.2.3 Thirdly, the Committee may refuse this proposal and decline to approve the sale of any Common Good Moveable items. The Committee may elect to retain all items permanently. This is not the recommendation proposed by officers, as neither the Council nor Culture Perth and Kinross have sufficient capacity to retain these items indefinitely. 3.3 Rationale for Recommendations made in Section 2 3.3.1 Neither the Council nor Culture Perth and Kinross have sufficient storage space for the majority of these items. It is recommended that the two crested chairs are retained as these hold a particular value to the history of the former Burgh Council. These chairs were former Baillie chairs, and they are of civic value, which was noted in the Consultation responses. 3.3.2 The Council is required to fulfil its statutory duties under Best Value, as set out in Section 1 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. Relevant aspects of this duty include: - Making best use of public resources, including land and property. - Being open and transparent in transactions. - Ensuring sound financial controls are in place to minimise the risk of fraud and error. - Assessing the full financial consequences of decisions at an appropriate level before major financial decisions are taken or commitments entered into.
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- Demonstrating responsiveness to the needs of communities, citizens, customers, and other stakeholders, where relevant. 3.3.3 The Council is likely to secure money by auctioning a number of these items, funds which can thereafter be contributed towards the Common Good Fund for Perth. Selling the majority of these items will provide the Common Good Fund with additional income, and allow the Council to use the limited storage space that it has more efficiently. 4. Impact Value Assessment Disposal of Common Good Moveable Property at 1-5 High Street Perth - IVA Summary Report pdf.html.pdf 5. Appendices 5.1 Inventory and Condition of Common Good Moveable Property.