Holyrood ‘has failed’ in land reform bid

The act, passed by the Holyrood parliament in 2003, has produced only nine successful buy-outs in eight years, despite its promise to liberate scores of rural communities from the control of absentee landlords.

The analysis suggests one of the main causes is flaws in the legislation itself, which only allows communities to mount buy-outs when a property is put on the open market. Even crofting communities, which were given the right to mount “hostile” bids for properties not up for sale, have as yet recorded no purchases.

The report’s author, Calum Macleod, the deputy director of the Centre for Mountain Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said there was a “pressing need” to “re-ignite the political momentum” behind the act, one of the key laws passed by the first session of the Scottish Parliament following devolution.

He is urging the SNP to fulfil a manifesto pledge to recreate the Scottish Land Fund, which was set up by the Labour- Liberal Democrat coalition at Holyrood to finance buy-outs with community funds.

“Now is the time to follow through on these commitments to show that it [the Scottish Government] is serious about securing the benefits that shared ownership of land and other assets can bring to communities,” Macleod said.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 was designed to allow rural groups to purchase privately held property, giving them greater control over its use. Successful projects range from the community buy-out of 44,000-acre sporting estates in Assynt, Sutherland, to the purchase of a former bank in Neilston.

But Macleod noted that some of the most high-profile buy-outs – such as the island of Gigha and an estate on North Harris – took place before the act was passed. Since the act, the pace of buy-outs has slowed. “Organisations using the community right to buy have to navigate a complex and highly bureaucratic process to register their interest in land, but must then wait until the owner puts that land on the market before they can activate that interest and proceed to purchase,” he said.

“Even successful activation of an interest is no guarantee that a community organisation will succeed,” Macleod added, pointing out that nine separate applications had failed because they were unable to secure funding and organise a required “community ballot” quickly enough.

“For these organisations which have successfully completed the process, the community right to buy has been invaluable in enabling them to put land and associated assets to uses which directly benefit the communities.

“However, the relatively low number of successful purchases using the act indicates that this right has not had a significant transformative impact upon land ownership in Scotland.”

Andy Wightman, a writer on land rights who campaigned for the act, said bureaucracy was the main reason for the collapse of most deals. “All you need is one mistake and the whole application can fail,” he said.

He added that many crofting communities lacked the motivation to use the legislation as they already owned their own land, even if the act made greater provision for its use or if they wished to acquire more.

For communities that succeed, the results can be life-changing. Jane Tulloch, interim development manager of the Assynt Foundation, said the purchase of the Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates had transformed the health of her community. “Before, we had weedy little deer that weren’t culled properly. Now our deer are absolutely fantastic,” she said, noting that the sale of venison from the area was an important area of economic growth. Lochinver Mission, a community-owned hostel, cafeteria and marine visitor centre, opened three months ago in Assynt and is “really thriving”.

“There’s a great feeling that we are the leaders in social enterprise, that we are a high-achieving community,” she added.

The foundation hopes that the recent refurbishment of a hunting lodge will give Assynt another boost on the way to balancing its books.

Iain Russell of CKD Galbraith, who was involved in the sale of Glencanisp and Drumrunie to the Assynt Foundation, disagreed that bureaucracy was to blame for failures. “My perception is that the legislation isn’t complicated. My view is that communities haven’t got an appetite to buy,” he said, adding that securing ongoing funding after purchase can be very challenging. “That’s why communities are very cautious.”

The Scottish Land Fund, which provided public funds and advice to communities to help with buy-outs, closed in 2006. This year, the SNP government said it might be revived.

Environment minister Roseanna Cunningham conceded the relevant areas of the act needed immediate reform. She told Holyrood’s rural affairs and environment committee: “Community groups should not have to negotiate unnecessary red tape to get them through these rights to buy.”