Landowners alarmed by Scotland’s Land Reform Bill progress

Considerable improvements are needed to make Scotland’s Land Reform Bill more workable, according to a report from Holyrood’s net zero, energy and transport committee.

The biggest issues are around how land is sold going forward, and “lotting”, which would split big parcels of land into smaller lots, potentially for more tenancies and nature restoration.

Although the general principles of the bill were supported by the committee, they said significant amendments will need to be made if its going to achieve what it needs to.

See also: Outrage as Scots government plans to break up larger holdings

For example, they did not think that the provision to offer communities the opportunity to buy land by making “off-market sales” harder, and giving them more time to register an interest to buy, would have any major impacts.

Lotting

The committee did, however, support the principle of lotting, giving ministers the power to intervene and force the break up of larger estates into smaller lots, should they come to market.

Landowner body Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) remains strongly opposed, however.

Sarah-Jane Laing, SLE chief executive, said: “The proposed lotting provisions pose a serious threat to investment in Scotland’s rural land.

“There are already numerous avenues for communities to purchase land, and we continue to see many successful voluntary transactions between willing sellers and buyers.”

A word of caution was issued by the committee, saying that independent professional advice should be sought to support these decisions and consideration of the public interest must be given in each case. 

Tenants

The second part of the bill, which attempts to reverse the decline in agricultural tenancies and enable the sector to play a fuller role in responding to the climate and biodiversity crises, received a mixed response.

The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) broadly welcomed the bill, saying if enacted, it will go a long way towards future proofing Scotland’s tenanted sector.

“Many of the measures [in the bill] are fundamental to ensuring tenants have fair access to future public funding and are able to meet the demands of future commodity markets,” said Douglas Bell, STFA managing director.

A welcome element, he added, was the provision for future compensation to be based on a reduction of rent, a reorganisation payment and the loss of the tenant’s interest in the lease, should landlords resume land from a tenancy to develop it for alternative land use.

The committee, however, warned that the right balance must be struck between landlord and tenant, otherwise even less land might be leased.

A Stage 1 debate on the bill will take place on Wednesday 26 March before it continues its journey through Holyrood.