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LAND REFORM BILL - REAL PROGRESS, BUT NEEDS TO BE BOLDER STILL

23rd June 2015

Community Land Scotland has welcomed the introduction of the new Land Reform Bill to Parliament as making real and important progress, but is urging the Scottish Government and Parliament to go further in what it proposes.

Highlighting the importance of the progress towards a comprehensive and statutory Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, the creation of a Land Commission, and further powers of intervention to force sales to communities when owners are frustrating sustainable development, Lorne MacLeod, Chair of Community Land Scotland, said,

"Community Land Scotland has long argued for more radical land reform to tackle Scotland's unjust land ownership patterns. Taking the long view, the proposed requirement for every Scottish Government to have a comprehensive policy statement on land rights and responsibilities, and the creation of the proposed Land Commission are positive steps to keep land reform and land policy on the national agenda and are potentially very positive vehicles for ongoing change.

"I also welcome any new powers for intervention when an owner is frustrating sustainable development and any steps to make more transparent who owns Scotland's land, but we can see ways to strengthen these proposals further. We will be examining the detail of what is proposed over coming weeks and we will publish arguments for strengthening them in due course - we need to make sure that the hurdles that communities would be required to overcome are fair and proportionate.

“We want to see land reform policy being rooted in economic, social and environmental objectives. Land reform policy needs to explicitly promote sustainable development, the progressive realisation of human rights, and greater fairness and diversity in Scotland’s land ownership.

“To achieve these aims, there needs to be strong powers of intervention deployed when the public interest demands this. At first reading, the proposed Bill seems silent on the question of the effects of a monopoly of land ownership by a few people through the size of their land holdings. We would want the Scottish Government to be bolder on this front and hope the Scottish Parliament’s scrutiny of the Bill will encourage and give confidence to the Scottish government to go further.

“Community Land Scotland does not object to the abolition of exemptions for Sporting Rates enjoyed by private sporting estates, and which some of its own members pay.

“Community Land Scotland will engage constructively with the Scottish Government and Parliament in setting out ideas for strengthening the Bill, to help bring about real change in Scotland’s anachronistic land ownership patterns we and many others want to see."