Landowner body hits out as Land Reform Bill passes

MSPs have passed new land reforms allowing ministers to break up Scotland’s largest estates.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is part of efforts to democratise land ownership, and gives the Scottish Government the ability to split up landholdings of more than 1,000 hectares when being sold, subject to a public interest test.

It also aims to increase the chances for communities to buy up plots of land and improve rights for agricultural tenants.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of rural landowners body Scottish Land & Estates, called the prospect “utterly absurd” and compared it to the failure of the Deposit Return Scheme.

But Max Wiszniewski of the Revive Coalition, which advocates for grouse moor reform, said there is “overwhelming support” amongst the public for stronger community rights.

The bill was subject to three days of debate which ended with 85 votes in favour, 28 against and nine abstentions. The Conservatives and Reform UK's Graham Simpson opposed the legislation.

Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Scotland’s concentrated patterns of ownership developed over centuries, with ownership and control of our nation’s land in the hands of the few for too long. In future, communities will have advance notice of sales of large land holdings and ministers will have the powers to pause them to allow the option of a Right to Buy application to be explored.

“This is an important step in our land reform journey and I am grateful to all those who have worked with us through the parliamentary process.”

However, Laing commented: “Perhaps uniquely, this legislation has succeeded in uniting landowners, land reform campaigners, lawyers, property agents and accountants – all of whom recognise that, whatever your stance on land reform, this is junk law.

“The reality is that many of the bill’s provisions are so badly drafted that it will take years of additional work by government and others before they can be implemented in practice – and some may never come into effect at all.

“No one emerges as a winner from this – not government, not landowners, not rural businesses, not communities, and certainly not the taxpayer who will bear much of the cost of the added bureaucracy. The only likely beneficiaries will be lawyers, as property transactions become more complex and the prospect of this Act being the subject of a challenge before the courts.”

Wiszniewski said that the “extreme concentration of ownership is why land reform remains so crucial”, adding: “The Scottish public understands the importance of land reform, with overwhelming support for measures like land taxes, climate targets for large estates, and stronger community rights.”

Former minister Michael Russell, now chair of the Scottish Land Commission, commented: “Public appetite for change has never been greater. Through our recent ScotLand Futures work, it is clear that people across Scotland want to see opportunities to own and use land opened up to deliver much wider benefit, for individuals, communities, and our economy as a whole.

“The bill introduces new obligations on large landholdings and will ensure large areas of land cannot be sold without prior notification. It also allows ministers to intervene to require land to be lotted when sold.  The bill will establish a new Land and Communities Commissioner within the Scottish Land Commission and we look forward to this appointment process being taken forward by government.

“These are significant steps, but this is not the end of the journey.”