Land Reform Bill ‘gambling with the future’ of rural communities

The Scottish Government’s Land Reform Bill is gambling with the future of communities in rural Scotland and investment in the transition to net zero.

That’s according to a 46-page submission by rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) to the draft legislation, following a call for evidence by the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.

Among its criticisms, SLE stated that the proposal to interfere with the sale of large landholdings by giving ministers power to split the landholding into lots jeopardises a range of projects supported by government, including housing provision, renewable energy, commercial forestry and carbon sequestration schemes.

It also argues that measures in the Bill to break up large estates rely too heavily on conjecture based on impressions rather than evidence, while evidence that land management at scale has positive outcomes for the environment and communities has been sidelined.

SLE pointed out that existing lending from banks and other finance agreements on property in rural Scotland are likely to require immediate review if property owners are no longer able to dispose of assets without recourse to government for lotting.

The submission also noted that no evidence appears to exist for the Scottish Government’s threshold of 1,000ha, 3,000ha, or any other defined scale, as a rationale for implementing onerous policies and legislation.

Land management plans, which are supported in principle, could, as set out, lead to a cost of more than £20,000 every five years for each estate required to do so.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of SLE, said: “Some of the measures proposed present serious concerns not only for the owners of land but also for people, jobs and nature – this is gambling with the future of rural communities.”

The organisation stated that breaking up large-scale landholdings is not the same as tackling concentration, adding: ”The sale of a 3000ha estate of largely hill land in Sutherland for example, may have much less of an impact on local communities than a 20ha site suitable for housing on the edge of a town or village.”

It continued: “The process of Ministers lotting estates for sale appears to be a clear interference with private property rights, which could lead to an impact on productive land use as well as value.

”The lotting criteria is sparse and unclear so it is impossible to determine at this stage the full extent of considerations that will be made by Scottish Ministers.”

The submission concluded: “We would like to see greater focus from the Scottish Government on supporting and facilitating constructive local planning and place making.”

Patrick Colquhoun, assistant chief executive at Luss Estates, owned by the Colquhoun family, said: “We are a business involved in green energy, hospitality, farming and forestry and other local businesses.

“We are wholly committed to community engagement and support measures that will take this forward, however, we are concerned by the introduction of a legal obligation for estates to consult on activities which any other business sector would consider to be within the realms of commercial business which often requires a degree of confidentiality and discretion.”

Crawford Mackay, partner at rural property consultancy Galbraith, said: “The proposals have the potential to bring an array of legal, financial and technical implications, and unintended negative consequences, to the Scottish land market.