Farm eviction
The eviction of the Paterson brothers from Glenree Farm after 22 years resulted in the auction of their farm equipment and personal possessions last Thursday. The sale attracted a large number of farmers from across Arran and the mainland.
It was a sad day at Glenree Farm last Thursday when the Paterson brothers’ agricultural equipment and personal possessions were auctioned off at a forced sale.
For John and his brother Ian, it was just too painful to watch as they saw lot after lot sold to the highest bidder. Everything from an extension cable and rolls of fencing barbed wire to slurry tankers, quad bikes and two massive tractors all went under the auctioneer’s stick.
The sale was conducted by Drew Kennedy of Ayr based Craig Wilson Ltd, a man well known in farming circles and the day attracted a big crowd of both Arran farmers and others from the mainland and a national media presence.
But, despite the bright low winter sunshine which bathed the farm, there was a shadow of dark depression over the proceedings in the knowledge that the items for sale had once been someone’s livelihood and that they had no option but to sell as the family were being evicted from the farm after 22 years.
As reported in last week’s Banner, the Paterson brothers finally lost their eviction fight after reaching a mediation agreement with Arran Estates and, with the rest of their family, will now leave the farm.
However, it has emerged that part of that agreement allows the family a stay of execution at the farmhouse for a few weeks. During this time, Ian will also be able to keep his falconry at the farm until he can find a new home for his 78 valuable breeding birds. But the rest of the farm and the equipment needed to run it has now gone.
John Paterson is one of a group of tenant farmers in Scotland being evicted from their homes following a ruling by the UK Supreme Court. It overruled a law passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2003 which granted the farmers a secure tenancy, after finding it breached their landlords’ human rights.
At the sale, he said watching all the farming equipment being sold off was the worst day of his life. ‘This is a very bad day for me. That is why I have been trying to keep out of it – I just can’t bear to watch.’
Brother Ian said: ‘It is heartbreaking to watch equipment we bought new being sold off literally pound for pound.’
The Paterson family may receive some compensation from their landlord for improvements they have made to the farm and they are awaiting the result of a Court of Session ruling after tenant farmers took the Scottish Government to court seeking compensation for the loss of their farms.
Six more families across Scotland will suffer the same experience over the next couple of years, including Richard McMaster and his family on Arran, who are facing eviction exactly a year from now from the majority of the farmland at Shannochie on the south coast.
Richard said: ‘It may be the Scottish Government who are effectively evicting us, but it is the landlords who are doing their dirty work. I believe the farm I was hoping to pass on to my sons will be gone this time next year, but I suppose while there is time there is hope.’
Arran MSP Kenneth Gibson said: ‘This has undoubtedly been a stressful and upsetting time for the Patersons. The situation has not been helped by the cynicism of politicians who do not represent Arran and irresponsible journalists, who have tried to make this difficult situation a cause célèbre.
‘Even after it was made clear, not least in parliament, that tripartite negotiations involving the Scottish Government, tenants and landowners could not take place, nor emergency legislation enacted for legal reasons, the Patersons and others were wrongly told it could happen, if only ministers would act.
‘Across Scotland, another seven tenant households are in a similar situation, including one family on Arran. Ministers will continue to explore every possible solution to prevent further evictions.’
West of Scotland MSP Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens, who attended the sale, said: ‘To say we shouldn’t be where we are now is a tragic understatement. The Scottish Government promised tenant farmers like the Patersons a three-way mediation and invited them to submit claims for compensation for loss of their tenancies.
‘None of this has happened and Greens have called for emergency legislation to postpone future evictions until such time as the Scottish Government fulfils its commitments.’