SCF is pleased about the overwhelming majority of MSPs voting in favour of the new land reform bill. The debate suggests that there is clearly room for more ambition – which is urgently required if the bill is to achieve anything meaningful.
The announcement of Armadale Estate in Skye going to market could not have been more timely as an illustration of what is currently going wrong: the 20,000 acres crofting estate is up for sale without prior notification being given to the local community. This means that the estate is likely to change hands without the practical possibility of even considering a community buyout. Again, a crofting estate is being sold out from under the locals’ feet.
The land reform bill debated in the Scottish parliament this Wednesday takes some steps to avoid such scenarios in the future, by introducing a duty of prior notification for local communities if large landholdings are planned to be put to market. However, overall – as SCF has stressed before – the land reform bill does not go far enough: the thresholds defining large landholdings are set too high, and the bill currently avoids a forward-facing public interest test that would enable scrutiny over prospective buyers’ plans, including the interest of crofting communities.
We are heartened that statements made throughout the parliamentary debate by SNP, Labour, and Green MSPs clearly demonstrate that a strengthened bill is not out of reach. Together with fellow organisations we will work towards amendments strengthening the bill at stage 2 – in particular around ensuring that more land can be brought under community ownership and that more land is made available for the creation of new crofts.
