Crown ‘should hand control of coast to local communities’

THE UK body which controls half of Scotland’s coast and almost all the seabed should be stripped of the role, MPs have said.

Local councils should instead take over the responsibilities of the Crown Estate Commissioners (CEC) which, it is claimed, is not doing enough to “maximise the benefits” for local and island communities.

MPs on Westminster’s Scottish affairs committee warned that handing power over to the Scottish Parliament would not go far enough and called for the CEC’s role to be devolved – but only on the condition that Holyrood then passes these responsibilities to local councils.

Committee chairman Ian Davidson MP described an “accountability vacuum” in Scotland, adding: “We visited various communities in Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, Argyll and the Western Isles and took evidence from every interested party we could find.

“Considering the nature and extent of the problems identified to us, almost exclusively in relation to the marine and coastal assets in Scotland, we have had to conclude that the CEC should no longer be the body responsible in these areas.

“The point is to conserve these assets and maximise the benefits to the island and coastal communities most closely involved with them.

“The only way this can be done is by devolving as much of the responsibility – and benefit – down to those local communities as possible.”

The CEC is formally accountable to the Treasury, with the UK government’s Scottish Secretary taking the lead for its operations. It generates about £300 million a year in revenues in Scotland and has £6.7 billion of property.

As well as the marine holdings, it has more than 40,000 hectares of rural estates and prime property in Edinburgh.

Revenue from Scotland, through leasing areas of the seabed, could be between £12-£49m by 2020.

Scottish rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said: “It is completely contrary to the spirit of self-government to have Scotland’s seabed and almost half the foreshore and other assets controlled by an unelected body, with no requirement to consider the will of local communities or consult the Scottish Government.

“I am delighted that the committee have adopted our suggested, two-stage model. Our progressive plans – which have also been backed by the Scottish Parliament – would see revenues from Crown Estate invested directly back into local communities and the Scottish Government is clear that this is absolutely the right approach – the communities most affected are the ones which should benefit.”

Gareth Baird, the Crown Estate’s Scottish Commissioner, said: “Our commitment to Scotland and its economy remains full and whole-hearted, and we’ll be studying the report’s recommendations closely, looking at how we can build on the work of our world-class renewable energy team in supporting the off-shore ambitions of the Scottish Government.”