The use of compulsory purchase powers has increased in recent years partly due to the development of major infrastructure projects and partly due to the increased emphasis on brownfield development.

Ann Faulds, who was the legal member of the Scottish Government Research team into their report on Compulsory Purchase and Land Compensation in Scotland, has over 20 years experience in compulsory purchase matters.

Our current credentials include:

• Advising the City of Edinburgh Council on compulsory purchase issues for the Edinburgh Tram project, which involved the service of over 29,000 notices to affected parties in an urban area
• advising SSE on the compulsory purchase orders for their Beauly – Denny project which involved acquisition of rights over a wide rural area
• advising Transport Scotland on compulsory purchase matters relating to the trunk road network and their heavy rail programme
• advising National Grid on obtaining a satisfactory resolution of its objectives to the Thames Gateway Bridge CPO.

We have also advised commercial developers on indemnity agreements and the use of compulsory purchase powers on their behalf.