The Land of Scotland and the Common Good

If you have not had a chance to browse this official Scottish Parliament document about land reform, I highly recommend that you do – http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00451087.pdf

Just the introduction spelling out their remit is a beautiful stand alone piece of prose in its own right! I have taken the liberty of copying it below to save you a click and a scroll…

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The relationship between the land and the people of Scotland is fundamental to the well-being, economic success, environmental sustainability and social justice of the country. The structure of land ownership is a defining factor in that relationship: it can facilitate and promote development, but it can also hinder it. In recent years, various approaches to land reform, not least the expansion of community ownership, have contributed positively to a more  successful  Scotland  by  assisting  in  the  reduction  of  barriers  to  sustainable development, by strengthening communities and by giving them a greater stake in their future. The various strands of land reform that exist in Scotland provide a firm foundation for further developments. The Government has therefore established a Land Reform Review Group.

The Land Reform Review Group has been appointed by Scottish Ministers to identify how land reform will:

  • Enable more people in rural and urban Scotland to have a stake in the ownership, governance, management and use of land, which will lead to a greater diversity of land ownership, and ownership types, in Scotland;
  • Assist with the acquisition and management of land (and also land assets) by communities, to make stronger, more resilient, and independent communities which have an even greater stake in their development;
  • Generate, support, promote, and deliver new relationships between land, people economy and environment in Scotland.

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