As the Parliament returns after summer recess, and with stage three of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on the horizon, the new coalition has sent an open letter to the Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon.

The coalition say that Scotland’s current land reform plan has no long-term strategic approach, and no coherent framework for reforming Scotland’s land laws and policies. The organisations call for reform including limits on land ownership, the full integration of urban Scotland in land reform legislation, stronger public interest assessment of incoming buyers, and the introduction of compulsory sale orders to bring vacant and derelict sites into use.

The new coalition is one of the biggest of its kind. Amongst the 16 organisations supporting the letter are: Community Land Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland, the Scottish Crofting Federation, Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, The John Muir Trust, The Landworkers Alliance and Community Energy Scotland.

One individual is on the list – independent researcher and land reform campaigner, Andy Wightman.

The letter to Ms Gougeon states: “Land reform in Scotland is a journey, but the current pace and breadth of this journey will not deliver the change which Scotland’s society, people and environment desperately needs.”

The coalition welcomes some aspects of the current Land Reform (Scotland) Bill – especially the proposals to align key thresholds at 1,000 hectares, for prior notification of estate sales, the lotting of large landholdings, and Land Management Plans (LMPs) for big landowners.

The organisations also welcome the recurring fines of up to £40,000 for landowners who breach LMPs, and support the emphasis on community involvement in planning and monitoring LMP’s.

The letter details specific issues that the coalition hopes to further discuss with the Scottish government including levels of subsidy payments for those in breach of land management plans, ensuring the concentration of landowner power on islands is recognised, and having robust public interest guidance for lotting decisions.

The coalition highlights Ms Gougeon’s previous speech where she recognised that land ownership in Scotland remains among the most concentrated in the world, and stated that the Scottish government was “committed to delivering ambitious proposals that will bring about greater fairness and equality of opportunity for our rural communities”. 

But, the letter adds that “this legislation, and previous legislation from the Scottish Government, has not, and seemingly will not, go far enough to deliver this”.  

Read the letter in full here.