Views sought on impact of concentrated land ownership

Rural communities and individuals across Scotland are being asked for their opinions on the impact of concentrated land ownership.

Land reform body, the Scottish Land Commission, launched the call for evidence from people who are directly involved or affected in areas where the majority of land is owned by either a single individual or organisation which has the power to make land-use decisions that affect the whole community.

The Commission’s chief executive, Hamish Trench, pointed to Scotland’s particularly concentrated pattern of land ownership compared to other countries and said the pattern had remained largely unchanged for decades.

“Concern about the effects that this has on communities and the wider public interest has long been a central issue in the land reform debate in Scotland,” he said.

“We want to look beyond the headline statistics to understand what the underlying issues are and how they might best be addressed.

“This is core to modernising our system of land ownership in a way that people feel reflects Scotland’s current needs and ambitions.”

Landowners’ organisation, Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) rejected the need for any further debate about ownership.

SLE chairman Lord David Johnstone said: “We acknowledge that land reform is an ongoing process, and we support independent research that can inform how ownership can influence the best possible use of land.

“There remains an absence of meaningful debate about what should be delivered from Scotland’s land rather than simply who owns it, and this is a matter that rural communities and businesses want to see addressed urgently, especially in light of Brexit.”

Hamish Trench.