Funding boost for Community Ownership Support Service

The Community Ownership Support Service (COSS), which helps groups and local authorities transfer buildings or land assets, will enjoy a funding boost over the next year.

Community empowerment minister Marco Biagi announced the £400,000 increase in funding for COSS today, as the Scottish government’s Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill reached its final stage in Holyrood.

The extra funding is expected to help COSS support the bill’s implementation.

The legislation, which is expected to pass with cross-party support, will give local authorities and public bodies a statutory duty to weigh up the benefits of transferring their land and buildings to communities.

Mr Biagi said: “Every community across the country has a building or area of land that could be transformed if local people were in control.

“This funding will help communities realise their ambitions, and find a way to improve their areas by injecting life into an old office block or waste ground.

“Taking over land or buildings can give communities the opportunity to protect services that might otherwise have been lost, it can provide jobs, training and opportunities to generate income or allow groups to refurbish and make alterations to buildings they already use.

“COSS has already supported nearly 50 asset transfers across Scotland and through this funding and the work of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill I know even more communities will benefit.

“This bill is a momentous step in our drive to give people a stronger voice in the decisions that matter to them.

“The bill will give communities more rights to take over land in both urban and rural areas, provide protection for allotments, introduce new powers to transform abandoned or derelict land and opportunities to be involved in decisions around the delivery of services, community safety, healthcare or education from day one.”

Linda Gillespie from COSS added: “We are delighted with the increased level of funding which will enable COSS to engage with a wider range of public bodies on asset transfer as well as with Community Planning Partnerships around asset rationalisation processes.

“The increased funding will also enable us to increase the technical capacity of the COSS staff team which will further benefit the groups we work with.”