Call for expansion of community land

Published on Thursday 30 June 2011 14:54

THE community land movement is helping to strengthen rural Scotland by retaining and increasing populations, sustaining schools and creating jobs and homes, a study has found.

The findings have prompted a call to extend the benefits of community land ownership beyond mainly crofting areas and into other parts of the country.

More than 500,000 acres of land is now in the hands of community landlords after takeovers in places like Eigg, Gigha, Knoydart and South Uist.

The study by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) visited all 17 of Scotland's community land areas which have populations ranging from 23 to 11,000.

It is the first part of a three-phase investigation on the effectiveness of different approaches to rural development. The next stage will look at the role of private landlords, followed by research into development trusts supported by public bodies.

The study's author, Dr Sarah Skerratt, said: "It is evident that community land ownership is one clear way of achieving a more vibrant rural Scotland.

"While communities may not all have the range of skills and capacity needed for the task of purchasing and developing their land, they are overcoming the challenges by 'importing' training, guidance and support to complement what they have locally.

"Based on our research of how community land ownership is delivering change at a local level, in my view it is an approach that could be applicable across rural Scotland."

David Cameron, chairman of Community Land Scotland, the movement's membership body, said the research would encourage other communities to consider whether landownership could be an option for them.

"This applies not only to areas in the Highlands and Islands - I believe that there are absolutely no barriers to it happening right across Scotland wherever there are willing communities."