How interested organisations will be able to become conservation bodies for the purpose of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003.

The Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a property law regime for enforcing conditions in the title deeds of land which safeguard conservation interests. It provides for a conservation body, prescribed by Scottish ministers, to be able to enforce a particular condition affecting a certain piece of land. Both the conditions and the body will have to seek to protect, for the benefit of the public:the architectural or historical characteristics of the land (which includes buildings), or
any other special characteristics of the land (including a special characteristic derived from the flora, fauna or general appearance of the land).
These burdens can be used when the conservation body is selling land, but imposes a condition to ensure that the conservation characteristics of the property are not lost.It will also be possible for conservation bodies to preserve existing feudal burdens as conservation burdens, provided that they meet the criteria for conservation burdens. The deadline for saving burdens will be the Appointed Day on which the feudal system is finally abolished. We have already announced that this will be on 28 November 2004.The Executive is currently in the process of inviting applications from those interested in becoming conservation bodies. Those who would like to be considered should contact the following address:Iain Hockenhull, Civil Law Division, 2 West Rear, St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.Phone/e-mail: 0131 244 8228; iain.hockenhull@scotland.gsi.gov.ukThe text of the act and its Explanatory Notes may be found at:http://www.scotland-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/.