New body planned to put the case for rural sector policies

A NEW approach to dealing with rural issues will be launched in May, with the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association proposing to set up the Centre for Land Policy.

The new body will help to formulate policies that can then be converted into legislation according to Andrew Howard, a director of the SRPBA, when he revealed details of the proposal at a conference in Perth yesterday.

One of the templates for the new organisation is the Tenants Farming Forum, which pulled together all the interested parties involved in agricultural tenancies and which then presented government with an agreed set of proposals for changing existing legislation.

It would work with other organisations operating in the rural economy he said, but it would not be a think-tank working with ideas. Instead, he envisaged it operating more on the basis of providing practical sustainable views that could then be incorporated into legislation.

Even if the next Scottish Government will not be known for four weeks, he was sure that whichever party came into office they would want to see agreed proposals put forward by those working and living in the countryside. "It is dangerous to legislate without knowledge," he commented.

After many years of being on the receiving end of legislation, Howard said the SRPBA saw this as a much better model for delivering new policies for the rural part of Scotland.

"We shall invite all rural organisations to take part. An informal approach has already been made to some potential partners. The SRPBA will fund and staff the centre ,but it will operate independently."

He said full details had not yet been worked out but he foresaw the centre having a board with an independent chairman. Whether it then worked on singular issues or whether it broke into sectors of work, had still to be decided.

Howard admitted that at the time when the Scottish Parliament was established 12 years ago, landowners were often seen as the problem and not part of the solution but a series of initiatives, including the TFF, had convinced them that they should be helping to formulate policy rather than reacting to it.

"As far as government is concerned, they want to see solutions and the centre will help bring forward ideas for the future. We want to help set the agenda for the countryside not just react to proposals," he told delegates attending a conference organised by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.