| 3 Land Reform: Vision for The
Future |
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| 3.1 In its first
consultation paper, the Group proposed that the overriding objective of land reform today
should be to remove the land-based barriers to the sustainable development of rural
communities. Sustainable development was defined as development that is planned with
appropriate regard for its longer term consequences, and is geared towards assisting
social and economic advances that can lead to further opportunities and enhanced
life-chances for rural people whilst protecting the environment. This approach has been
generally endorsed. As many respondents pointed out, this provides a basis for integrating
land reform development within the wider context of strategy for rural development and
with other emerging issues such as Agenda 2000. |
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3.2 The responses to the
first consultation paper provide the basis for working up this general objective into a
more detailed vision of the patterns of land ownership and land use which would be most
likely to support such sustainable development in the future. The key themes of this
emerging vision are:
- increased diversity in the way land is owned and used, as
the best way of dealing with damage to the local community or environment which can result
from monopoly ownership, and of encouraging the fullest possible exploitation of rural
development opportunities; and
- increased community involvement in the way land is owned and
used, so as to ensure that local people are not excluded from decisions which affect their
lives and the lives of their communities.
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3.3 The Group has
translated this into the following vision for the future:
- more local involvement, greater commitment and
accountability by private landowners in rural Scotland;
- more scope for community ownership and management of local
land where this can be sustainable;
- more scope for releasing land for housing and local
development where this is sustainable and secures the retention and if possible the
expansion of fragile rural communities;
- more scope for smallholdings supporting a wide range of
land-based and other economic activity where this is sustainable and secures the retention
and if possible the expansion of fragile rural communities;
- about the same level of ownership by public bodies, but with
more local involvement and accountability and more employment of local people;
- more local involvement and accountability and more
employment of local people by non-Governmental organisations who own land in rural
Scotland;
- outdated and unfair feudal arrangements swept away;
- conditionality of land ownership where appropriate to
reflect modern circumstances;
- a more constructive approach to problem cases, including
those relating to the foreshore and the seabed;
- more definitive information readily available about land
ownership;
- more broad-brush information readily available about land
ownership;
- more information readily available about beneficial owners;
- more information readily available about public support
relating to land;
- better integration of policy for rural land use at national
level;
- more integrated planning of rural land use at local level;
- more community involvement in decisions about rural land
use;
- more public access on a responsible basis;
- more scope for diversity of agricultural tenancy
arrangements;
- simpler and cheaper arrangements for resolution of disputes
between agricultural tenants and their landlords;
- wider opportunities for tenant farmers to diversify;
- greater protection for those who own property built on
leased land;
- more sustainable crofting communities;
- more local involvement in and accountability for crofting
administration;
- much simplified crofting legislation and administration;
- more (or at least not fewer) active crofters;
- undertaking a wider range of land-based and other economic
activity rather than predominantly agriculture.
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| 3.4 The following Chapters
consider what are the best options for legislation and other action to help achieve this.
A wide range of possible options which might contribute to achieving different aspects of
this vision is identified; and the legislative, administrative and cost implications of
each are assessed. The Group will not make recommendations as to which options should be
pursued until the responses to this second consultation paper have been taken into
account. However the Group’s provisional views on the feasibility of each option are
shown as either "Probably yes" or "Maybe" or "Probably not",
together with a brief statement of explanation. |
