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.
“As drafted, the proposals include restrictions on the disposal of small areas of land within villages, where a member of the community may wish to extend their garden or business.
“The proposals are also likely to capture the sale of residential developments, where each and every house sale would require the prior approval of Scottish ministers.“
He explained that at present, when an estate or farm is lotted for sale, it is done for very specific land use or operational reasons. “Notwithstanding that lotting is a possible outcome of the sale process, the separate transactions involved increase the risks and costs for the seller, which would need to be considered if lotting was imposed rather than selected.
“By embarking on this process, without a clear timescale and reference to property professionals or owners, the proposals appear likely to create further uncertainty and so reduce confidence, and investment, in both the agricultural and environmental land market in Scotland,” added Mackay.
The Bill has been introduced by ministers with the aim of improving how land is managed in Scotland’s rural and island communities. If approved by Holyrood, the bill will apply to large land holdings of more than 1,000 hectares, preventing sales in certain cases until the impact on the local community can be assessed.
This could result in some land holdings being divided into smaller parts if it is deemed beneficial. More than half of Scotland’s area is made up of large land holdings of over 1,000 hectares.
The bill would also require these land owners to demonstrate how they use their land to contribute to key public policy priorities, such as tackling climate change and protecting nature. Furthermore, these land owners would need to engage with local communities about their land use.
The legislation could also give local communities more opportunities to own land by providing advance notice of some sales from large land holdings.
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