COLUMN: Land reform proposals are 'timid'
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From the Croft by Russell Smith
This is a busy time of year for crofters – shearing, making hay, topping rushes and tourists coming and going for those of us involved in that business.
The Royal Highland Show was back last month and reportedly as busy as ever. I couldn’t make it but I am looking forward to the Black Isle Show on August 4. The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) tent will be back so hope to see you there.
We are still waiting for the Scottish Government’s proposals on agricultural support, post-Brexit, but in the meantime we have a consultation on land reform. Rural Scotland has a highly concentrated pattern of land ownership and this holds back development and the ability of people to get established and make a living for themselves and their family.
We have the situation where one person can impose their views on how the land should be used (or not used) without considering the needs or opinions of those who live there. Whether you agree with the views or not, you have to ask whether the approach is valid when we are long past the feudal age?
The stated core aims of the Scottish Government’s land reform policy are set out in their Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, they are:
* To increase diversity of landownership.
* To bring about changes in land use.
* To create more opportunities for communities to engage in decision making about the land around them, and share in the benefits it brings.
We can argue about the second, but the intention is good. The question then is do the actions match up to the ambition?
The proposed measures include:
* The introduction of a public interest test for transfers of large-scale holdings.
* A requirement for owners of large-scale holdings to give prior notice to community bodies of their intention to sell.
* A requirement on those seeking land-based subsidies to have the land registered to ensure transparency of who benefits from public funding.
Timespan in Helmsdale hosts a public meeting on Tuesday, July 26 which would be worth attending. The consultation runs to September and obviously contains a lot more detail.
The Scottish Government present this bill as another step on the path of land reform so maybe there will be more radical proposals later but what is on offer here seems quite timid. So, for example, there would be a requirement for landowners to publish a land management plan saying what they intend to do over the next years but what happens if the local community doesn’t like the plan – can the landowner be forced to change it?
There is also a proposal that a public interest test be applied to sales of large holdings. This sounds good in theory but we would need to study the detail – especially of how it can be enforced.
The land reform agenda dovetails neatly with SCF’s campaign about access to crofts for young people – though the consultation doesn’t make the link – we will have to draw this to the government’s attention.
In an interesting parallel on disenfranchisement, our next prime minister will be chosen by Conservative party members – who are less than 0.2 per cent of the population!
Russell Smith is a crofter at Bonar Bridge and a director of the Scottish Crofting Federation.
