Recent History of Land Reform in Scotland
Land reform has been a central platform of Scottish rural development policy.
The recommendations for Action from the Land Reform Policy Group, chaired by Lord Sewel and whose report was published in January 1999, set out a range of measures to pursue land (and related law) reform.
The Group published 3 documents:
Identifying the Problems - published February 1998, was its first consultation document, which details the problems and opportunities which land reform should address. The consultation exercise attracted over 360 responses, plus a further 90 dealing with land reform in response to the rural strategy consultation paper.
Identifying the Solutions - published September 1998, was the Group's 2nd consultation document, which attracted 846 responses. The document details the Group's visions for the future and sets out the next steps which should be taken for achieving these visions. A summary document was also produced.
Recommendations for Action - published January 1999, while this was not intended as a consultation document, a number of responses were still received. The Group's final recommendations are set out at Annex B of the report.
The Land Reform Policy Group saw the objective for land reform to be to remove the land-based barriers to the sustainable development of rural communities. Sustainable development was not something that can be readily defined in the abstract; but in practice it would consist of development which is planned with appropriate regard for local communities, local employment and the environment. It therefore needs an integrated approach which takes account of social and economic as well as environmental aspects. To achieve this, there needed to be follow-up action and subsequent progress reports to Parliament on the Land Reform Action Plan.
The Land Reform Action Plans were divided into the following topics:
- Law Reform Legislation
- Land Reform Legislation
- Legislation on Countryside and Natural Heritage issues
- Agricultural Holdings Legislation
- Crofting Legislation
- Action without Legislation
- Issues for further study
Outcomes to date
Most of the LRPG recommendation have been achieved. Legislation enacted as a result of the land reform agenda includes:
Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003
Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003
Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000
Leasehold Casualties Act 2001
Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004
Research
A research project was undertaken during 2007 to assess the social and economic impacts of land reform. A copy of the published research report is available through the following links:
Research Report
Research Report Summary
Land Reform Action Plan Reports
The Land Reform Action Plan (LRAP) was published quarterly between August 1999 and May 2000. It then became a half yearly publication to 2003.
Action Plan 2003
Archive Action Plans