Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson SNP MSP for Skye Lochaber and Badenoch has welcomed the launch of the Scottish Government consultation on land reform, which has the key issue of making sure that people know who owns land in Scotland at its heart.

The consultation was announced by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her Programme for Government and was launched last week by Environment and Land Reform Minister Aileen McLeod in a clear indication that the SNP want to press on as quickly as possible on the important issue.

The consultation also looks at how Common Good assets - whether that is land, money or buildings - can best be managed in the future for the benefit of communities.

The Scottish Government has also announced that the Scottish Land Fund will more than treble from £3 million to £10 million. The consultation will also see a dedicated resource established within the Scottish Government to promote and facilitate community land ownership across the whole of Scotland.

Mr Thompson said, “The land of Scotland must be an asset for the many and not the few and we need to find ways to set train processes that  will  lead to fairer and more equitable, distribution of land in Scotland.

“This will be no easy task but we are committed to finding a solution to make that happen.

“For too long the ownership of land in Scotland has been less than transparent, with many landowners unaccountable to those who live and work on their land. This move by the Scottish Government will begin to change that position.

“The trebling in size of the Scottish Land Fund is also something which is important in allowing other communities across Scotland to benefit from funding to allow them to progress their own buyouts. Fragile communities need to be able to develop and to take charge of their own destiny and there have been successful land buyouts by communities in Scotland already.

“On Common Good there is a growing desire to identify clearly what our Common Good assets are and how communities can influence and use those assets to maximise their potential.

“This is an important consultation in progressing land reform and I would urge the good folk of the Highlands and Islands to make their views known.

Note:

The Consultation can be viewed on the Scottish Government website via this link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/12/9659