Land Reform Policy Group: Recommendations for Action

9. Summary of Recommendations

Law reform legislation

Legislation to abolish the feudal system and to replace it with a system of outright ownership of land. Legislation to reform leasehold casualties. Legislation to reform real burdens to do away with outdated conditions on properties and to modernise the basis on which remaining and new conditions should apply.

Land reform legislation

Legislation to allow time to assess the public interest when major properties change hands. Legislation to give a community right to buy such land as and when it changes hands. A back-up compulsory purchase power to deter evasion. A reserve power to investigate beneficial ownership of land. Legislation to supplement action to create a publicly accessible non-authoritative database on rural landholdings with data held by public bodies; and similar legislation to extend ScotLIS (in the event of that pilot being successful).

Legislation on countryside and natural heritage issues

Legislation to reform access arrangements. Legislation to revise the SSSI system. Legislation to create National Parks.

Agricultural holdings legislation

Legislation to provide more flexible tenancy arrangements. Legislation to simplify and reduce the cost of dispute resolution and to extend the role of the Scottish Land Court. Legislation to permit wider diversification by farm tenants and to facilitate part-time farming by tenants. Legislation to provide greater protection for tenants against the operation of contested notices to quit, where the landlord intends to use the land for non-agricultural purposes. Legislation to introduce rights for tenants to develop woodland; to encourage good conservation practice by tenants; and to strengthen tenants' rights to compensation for game damage and minerals.

Crofting legislation

Legislation to give all crofting communities a right to acquire their croft land. Legislation to allow creation of new crofts. Legislation to allow the extension of crofting tenure to new areas. Legislation to devolve regulatory decisions to local bodies. Legislation to update crofting legislation by tightening control over decrofting, curtailing control of subdivision, simplifying subletting, enabling owner occupiers to let their crofts without creating a crofting tenancy and simplifying assignations, re-lets and succession. Legislation to remove the link between crofting grants and agricultural production. Legislation to clarify the law on crofter forestry.

Action without new legislation

New requirements for all public bodies with rural landholdings answerable to the Secretary of State should be set so that they increase local community involvement in the management of their land. Other public bodies should also be invited to do likewise. A Code of Good Practice for rural landownership (including non-Governmental organisations) should be developed. An enhanced Land Fund is needed. Scottish Enterprise should set up a Community Land Unit. The Government should give explicit support for the use of compulsory purchase powers as a last resort where this will assist implementation of local plans or other strategies. The integrated planning of rural land use at local level should be taken forward in the context of community planning. A Code of Good Practice on rural land use should be developed. Steps should be taken to improve co-ordination of activity between public bodies responsible for land use matters and rural development. A new (non-authoritative) database on rural landholdings should be set up. Some initial action to simplify agricultural arbitration can and should be taken; also action to provide wider opportunities for diversification by farm tenants. The Crofters Commission should act to encourage more community management of croft land, to ensure that there is no bias against newcomers in crofting administration and to tackle absenteeism vigorously.

Issues for further study

The scope for streamlining public assistance supporting land uses; the scope for making more information readily available about public assistance relating to land; and the scope for attaching certain conditions to such public assistance should be studied systematically. Evaluation of the impact of new planning guidance on rural development. Consideration of the implications for Scotland following current comprehensive review of compulsory purchase and compensation legislation. Investigation of the legal scope and nature of possible legislation to give greater protection for those who own property built on leased land. Comprehensive review of the law of the foreshore and seabed, with a view to reform. How best and most cost-effectively to make information about land ownership as comprehensive as possible. The economic impact of abolishing national non-domestic rate relief on sporting land and reducing or abolishing national non-domestic rate relief on agriculture and forestry should be thoroughly evaluated. A comprehensive economic evaluation of the possible impact of moving to a land value taxation basis. Research on bringing crofting regulation into local community control. Review in due course of the need for stronger enforcement of deer control measures.