Ameeta Panesar

Ownership can divide opinion, with a current, complex, question being who should own Greenland. Let’s just focus this article, though, on Scotland. Ownership of land in Scotland has changed a lot since the time of Robert Burns. Burns lived from 1759-1796, dying at age 37. The Scottish Land Act of 1746 was in force through Burns’ life, a legislative effort to destroy the power base of the Highland clan system by abolishing their ownership rights. However, the feudal system of land ownership that had evolved in Scotland from the 11th century was still the bedrock system of the Scottish mainland in Burns’ time.

In Burns’ early, tragically short, life, he was a tenant farmer, having been born to William Burnes, or Burness, a gardener and tenant farmer. His immortal lines, on turning a mouse up in her nest with the plough, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!” were published in 1786.

And so, to 21st-century Scotland. The feudal system of land ownership was abolished on 28 November 2004. The Land Reform (Scotland) Acts of 2003 and 2016 continue to shape developments in Scottish land ownership. In connection with community rights under these Acts, on buying land when it comes up for sale, buying abandoned, neglected or detrimental land – enabling intervention where land is harming local wellbeing – and buying land for further sustainable development in promoting economic and environmental resilience, Scottish government published, on 5 January 2026, updated guidance on the use of their land reform mapping tool. This tool is a resource, or aid, to help communities and public bodies define geographic boundaries for preliminary purposes with a view to exercising rights under the 21st-century Scottish land reform legislation.

The mapping tool provides an interactive platform to assist in the definition of community boundaries in the context of forming a community body capable of being recognised for application purposes. Users can select from geographic units such as community council areas, electoral wards, localities, settlements, islands, and postcode zones. For more complex cases, the tool allows custom boundary creation by combining multiple areas. The recently updated guidance explains how to navigate the tool’s features, including zoom and pan controls, layer selection, and “identify” functions that display details about selected areas. Advanced options allow users to measure distances and areas, ensuring accurate mapping for preliminary legal submissions.

Maps produced for applications must meet strict criteria – metric scale, north orientation, grid references, and clear boundary lines. Where boundaries do not follow visible features, measurements must be shown to one decimal place. The tool’s “Print Map” function formats these requirements automatically. This is to reduce the administrative burden on communities, making community led initiatives and applications easier.

It is important to remember that the mapping tool exists to assist with applications in the context of defining proposed community boundaries with a view to establishing community interests. It is not to determine ownership. Ownership of land in Scotland is determined by registration of ownership in the Scottish land register, subject to the ultimate oversight of Scotland’s civil courts. The community mapping tool is to help communities take first steps towards the goal of registration of ownership in the Scottish land register. Independent legal advice should always be recommended when taking any steps towards land ownership in Scotland to mitigate the risk of best laid schemes going awry.

Ameeta Panesar is a legal director at Clyde & Co. This article first appeared in The Scotsman.