SNP to establish land agency, Land Scotland, if re-elected in May

The SNP will establish a new land agency for Scotland to maximise the social and economic benefits of publicly owned land, if re-elected to government next month.

Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Jane Barlow

Called Land Scotland, the new body will work with other agencies to keep land reform at the top of the government’s agenda.

The SNP-led Scottish governments of the past have made increasing community ownership of land a priority – a move which has proved controversial with existing landowners.

Land Scotland will be set up alongside a number of other initiatives, which have been put in place to redistribute land ownership.

These include setting up the Scottish Land Commission which will keep land reform on the public and parliamentary agenda in the years ahead, and the opening of the new £10 million Scottish Land Fund, which is designed to assist the growth of community owned land.