CROFTING FEDERATION QUESTIONS SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT LAND SALE POLICY

Following the Scottish Government’s decision this week to withdraw part of its Rosal forest estate in Sutherland from open market sale following public criticism, the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) is asking the Government to examine its policies on the sale of public land, community ownership and the creation of new crofts.

SCF Chair, Derek Flyn, believes the Rosal case demonstrates some of the problems caused by the manner in which the Forestry Commission conducts the process of land sale. He said: “There is no surprise that local communities did not come forward expressing an interest in the land, when, as the sales particulars were keen to point out, communities were cleared from this land and that it is a deserted ‘wilderness’. Putting this land on the market in this way is simply perpetuating a system of land ownership concentrated into few hands, a system the Scottish people want to see changed.”

He continued “A great deal of effort and public money has been invested in reforming crofting. The Scottish Government has pledged its commitment to the crofting system and has legislated to enable crofts to be created. We have called on the Government to be proactive in its policies. Here is an opportunity to restore people to the land. We urge the Scottish Government to take the brave and historic decision to repopulate the cleared crofting communities of Strathnaver.”

The call is part of a wider request for the Government to investigate the potential for transferring control of the Forest of Rosal to community interests in Sutherland. The Scottish Government claimed there was no community interest registered in the 6,356 acre estate and as a result they put the forest on the market earlier this week, before subsequently withdrawing it from sale after criticism on social media.

Flyn concluded “We must question the adequacy of the consultation the Government currently holds when disposing of forest land. We believe the process is focused on delivering financial targets with the least possible hassle to Forestry Commission land agents, rather than as a proactive opportunity to diversify ownership and get more people on the ground, either as individuals or through community projects. This is a golden opportunity for the Scottish Government to show that they believe that the people of Scotland should have first call on the land.”

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