Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, who is a member of the Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environmental Committee (RACCEC) has welcomed the news that island and coastal organisations will benefit from the chance to buy coastal land from the Crown to develop their businesses and he has proposed that power in this area should be devolved beyond the Scottish Government and down to local council and community level.

Dave recently attended a meeting with other members of RACCEC, taking the chance to put forward his suggestion that devolution of Crown Estate administration should be devolved right down to local communities.

He said: “We should be exploring ideas that brings to fruition the possibility that local communities take responsibility for issues that relate to their own areas, which is why I have suggested a two-tier system, whereby the Scottish Government has responsibility for certain things but that communities will have responsibility for those matters which pertain to them”.

Dave also took the opportunity at a recent Community Land Scotland meeting to make this proposal to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Paul Wheelhouse).

Dave stated: “I am keen to see development in this area as I believe community decision making over what a community owns will ultimately be better for those communities involved”.

Note:

The full report from the RACCEC can be found here:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=9231&mode=pdf