So, at long last, we are finally about to submit our ‘community asset transfer’ application to NHS Lothian -seeking their approval for a community buy-out. Calling it an ‘asset transfer’ is a bit of misnomer as really we are seeking permission to purchase the land.
And the price that we should pay for that purchase is the main question at issue as, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to reach agreement with NHS Lothian on the basis for valuing the land.
There is a wide range of potential valuations depending on the use of the site, but it is clear that the current use, and current planning permission, is for a community garden and so we believe that this should be the basis used for valuation. According to our professional valuation, this value is £45,000.
NHS Lothian however have obtained a valuation of just over £1 million on the basis that the garden could be sold to a housing developer. Whilst the land did at one time have outline permission for housing, this lapsed in 2002 and we believe that there are strong grounds for believing that permission for housing would now be unlikely to be granted.
Even if it is possible that NHS Lothian might miss out on a one-off, one million pound capital receipt, we think that we have built a strong case that selling the land to the community, so enabling the continuation and further development of the community garden and orchard, provides best long-term value. As reported in our October 2025 update, the social value of activities in the garden over the next five years has been estimated as worth over £3.5 million and this is on top of the other public health, environmental, economic and strategic benefits arising.
In terms of the strategic benefits, our application makes clear (see this excerpt) how our plans for the community garden are a strong fit with the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework and key policies as well as those of East Lothian Council and NHS Lothian’s own ‘Green Health‘ and other strategies that have ‘prevention’, ‘support to stay well’, ‘supporting health and wellbeing’, ‘building community resilience’ and ‘engaging our communities’ at their core.
Once NHS Lothian have received our application and verified it as complete, they then have up to six months to assess it and to decide whether to accept or refuse it. The Scottish Government guidance for public bodies states that:
Any asset transfer request should be assessed alongside any other
proposals for the related asset to enable a Best Value judgement to be made. This will be a judgment that takes into account the financial implications alongside the wider benefits that will accrue in pursuing local or national priorities to deliver improved outcomes for Scotland.
In considering requests, the relevant authority should always keep in mind
that the criterion is whether there are reasonable grounds for refusal.
In the event that our application is refused, we have the option of making an appeal to Scottish Ministers.
With many thanks to all our supporters! We will keep you posted.