Tenants in Scotland receive rent rebate
Tenants in Scotland receive rent rebate
TENANTS of Douglas and Angus Estates in southern Scotland have been given a 1998 rent rebate. The 16 tenants farm 8000ha (20,000 acres) of hill and upland farms.
"Directors, including the Earl of Hume, made the gesture in recognition of the hard times facing farmers, especially those in hill and upland units," said Henry Birch of land agent Bidwells which manages the estate.
Tenant Ian Fleming who has 2000ha (5000 acres) based on Kinnox at Douglas, Lanarkshire, said the gesture had been well received. "The money is welcome but so is the moral support of the landlords and their acceptance that we are facing a crisis. We are treating the payment as a one-off gesture rather than a permanent rent reduction," said Mr Fleming.
Neither he nor Mr Birch would disclose the value of the rent rebate. *