Land valuation

Brian Wilson’s article “Do Buccleuchs really need another £6m?”(saturday, 22 August) makesafundamentalmistake. Buccleuch has not ‘demanded’ a price for this land, nor indeed set any price on it.

The £6 million valuation quoted is a result of an independent joint valuation between The Langholm Initiative and Buccleuch. The initiative is happy with the valuation and we have an ongoing constructive discussion with them regarding various options for acquiring the land they are interested in purchasing.

It is bizarre that advocates of land reform urged landowners to sell land to communities and when productive engagement happens with a community, it’s still not enough.

BENNY HIGGINS Executive chairman, Buccleuch, Henderson Place Lane,

Edinburgh