Archive for August, 2007
Monday, August 13th, 2007
Dunbar and north Berwick offer the best quality of life of Scottish seaside towns, a recent study by the HBOS group has stated, while the best value for money was to be found in Montrose, Dunoon and Kirkcaldy.
Over the past three years, the seaside town with the biggest house price increase was Eyemouth, where prices increased by 82 per cent to an average of £155,278. Second was Stranraer and third place went to Girvan, displaying rises of 74 and 73 per cent respectively.
Of the ten largest increases in seaside town house prices over the last three years, the top nine were all located in Scotland.
More than three quarters of seaside towns in Scotland experienced an increase of ten per cent in their average house price in the last year. Scottish properties also made up 60 per cent of the biggest house price rises in the UK over the past year.
The HBOS group is the largest mortgage and savings provider in the UK according to its website, its brands include the Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
Posted in Estate Agency | No Comments »
Friday, August 10th, 2007
BAA may be ordered to turn ownership of one of Scotland’s three busiest airports over to a rival to break up its control of the market, following a Competition Commission (CC) inquiry.
The CC investigation into the aviation industry is intended to examine the possible negative effects of BAA owning Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports as well as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton in England.
High charges to airlines and complaints about customer service have led to the inquiry.
Christopher Clarke, inquiry group chairman, said: "We are looking at how common ownership could affect BAA’s incentives both to invest in and develop its airports and operate them."
He added that the CC was specifically calculating how the quantity, specification, quality, location and timeliness of capital expenditure, ranging from capacity to security, may be affected by common ownership.
Should the CC find any features of the aviation market that restrict, prevent or distort competition it has the power to issue a divestment order forcing the sale of one or more of the airports.
Around 1,700 aircraft currently take-off from BAA UK airports every day, equivalent to one every 30 seconds.
Posted in Commercial Law | No Comments »
Thursday, August 9th, 2007
A legal challenge to the Scottish executive’s land reform legislation will be launched tomorrow by a farmer who claims that the policy is devaluing his land and threatening his children’s inheritance, according to the Herald.
The appeal is against Scottish ministers’ recent decision to allow the people of Kinghorn in Fife’s community-led land association to register an interest in 19 plots of land around Kinghorn, giving them first refusal on the right to purchase the land should the owners decide to sell.
Non-crofting communities cannot force a landowner to sell due to the Scottish Land Reform Act, but after registering an interest they have six months to raise the funds to purchase the land if it becomes available.
Since the community is only interested in purchasing three fields of their land, the Hazle family claim that their farm would become effectively worthless should they try and sell it.
They also assert that under the Act landowners’ wills cannot be altered after the community has registered an interest, which may mean that their children cannot inherit.
The Scottish Land Reform Act was passed by the Scottish executive in 2003.
Posted in Commercial Law | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007
Scotland’s 35 abattoirs face tough new measures following the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK, according to the Scottish environment secretary.
Richard Lochhead said farmers must apply for new rigorous slaughter licenses, display adequate safety measures and face restrictions on the transfer of livestock.
The news comes after the announcement that the complete ban on movement of cattle in Scotland has been relaxed, placing the Scottish meat and livestock industry ahead of its counterpart south of the border – where all movement of animals is still prohibited.
The lifting of restrictions on slaughter was agreed on the advice of Charles Milne, Scotland’s chief veterinary officer and after discussion with UK ministers and officials.
Mr Milne said: "On the basis of a veterinary risk assessment, I am confident that we can proceed with this limited relaxation in Scotland on a strictly controlled basis."
Foot-and-mouth disease is an infectious disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, in particular cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer. A total of 2,030 cases of the disease were confirmed in Great Britain in the outbreak between February and September 2001 according to Defra.
Posted in Commercial Law | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
Calls from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for Scottish regulators to relax restrictions over legal services have been welcomed by the country’s legal profession.
The recommendations by the OFT to the Scottish executive called for limitations on legal services to be cut as they could potentially be harming consumers.
OFT executive director of markets and projects Sean Williams said the restrictions are unnecessary and prevent solicitors and advocates from innovating to meet the needs of clients.
John Campbell QC, founder of the independent Oracle Chambers, stated that the OFT has properly swept aside the Faculty Services’ arguments against reform.
Douglas Mill, chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, said that he wanted to see the development of an essentially Scottish solution: "What we must ensure, though, is that Scotland seeks its own solutions and that access to justice and protection of the public remain core to any plans for reform."
The OFT is a non-ministerial government department established by statute in 1973, a Scottish branch of which has existed since March 2007.
Posted in Commercial Law | No Comments »
Monday, August 6th, 2007
The Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) is due to expand in Scotland following the completion of a fact-finding visit by Christopher Hamer, the UK Ombudsman.
Mr Hamer reviewed the country’s property market and assessed the relevance of it to the OEA.
OEA provides mediation and redress assistance through 11,000 estate agency offices in England and Wales. In Scotland, 130 estate agent offices currently benefit from these services.
Commenting on Scotland’s expanding estate agency businesses, Mr Hamer said: "I’ve been told that something like 60 per cent of properties in Glasgow are now marketed through estate agencies."
"In Edinburgh, the situation is very much the reverse with solicitors dominating the property market," he said.
In his role as ombudsman, Mr Hamer has the authority to award a maximum of £25,000 in compensation to complainants.
The OEA Scheme offers an independent service for dealing with disputes between member estate agencies and consumers. The ombudsman is independent of the member agencies and provides a free impartial review of complaints falling within his terms of reference.
Posted in Estate Agency | No Comments »
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
Support for the climate change bill as a provider of opportunities to tackle the increased occurrence of extreme weather was voiced today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Anyone considering investing in a new home may be interested to read that Jane Milne, head of property insurance at the ABI, has noted the destructive impact the recent severe flooding has had on the lives, homes and businesses of people across England, Scotland and the rest of the UK.
"We thoroughly endorse the joint committee’s recommendations that there should be regular reports to parliament on the climate risks we face and the measures government and local authorities have in hand to deal with them," she asserted.
Ms Milne stated that climate change could also increase incidences of storm damage, subsidence and heat waves, all of which could impact upon the choices made by new home buyers.
Following the flooding across the UK, applications for house insurance from Scottish residents, along with people from Sheffield, Doncaster, the West Midlands and Hull, increased by up to 300 per cent, according to price comparison site moneysupermarket.com.
Posted in Estate Agency | No Comments »
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Independent financial advisers offering advice to those looking to organise their wills or estates are likely to welcome a new pack from insurer and finance provider Standard Life.
The firm has announced the launch of a new estate planning pack intended for both advisers and their clients, which details a variety of opportunities for limiting the impact of inheritance tax (IHT).
Focussing on the company’s own products, the pack also provides commentary on subjects such as wills and IHT issues surrounding family homes.
Julie Hutchison, estate planning specialist with Standard Life Assurance, remarked: "Advisers work closely with clients to help them maximise their wealth and plan for their financial future but this will mean little to the next generation if estate planning is not considered, side by side, with other areas of financial advice."
Last month, Zurich unveiled its own IHT planning tool which it stated would help to mitigate the effects of a tax impacting on the finances of an increasing number of consumers.
Posted in Inheritance Tax | No Comments »
