Think-tank calls for ‘national conversation’ on rural land
A leading think-tank is calling for a wide -ranging “national conversation” on the future of land in rural Scotland in the aftermath of Brexit.
Reform Scotland said the country was in need of a new “agriculture and land-use road map” after its departure from the European Union and the common agricultural policy.
The organisation has urged politicians to explore how to re balance rural economies and create jobs to “reverse centuries of urbanisation”.
Reform Scotland’ s discussion paper calls for private landowners to“engage constructively” with are think to maximise the potential of rural Scotland through everything from renewable energy, tourism and housing to agriculture and forestry.
The report also recommends a “more balanced and environmentally sustainable" use of natural resources, as well as a rethink of state subsidy and state intervention in rural areas, which account for 98 percent of Scotland’ s land mass but just seven per cent of the population.
However, the think-tank has admitted the scale of reforms suggested may “accelerate the decline” of traditional activities such as livestock farming.
It urges the agriculture sector to invest in technology and science to improve productivity, make the most of biotechnology, genetics and supply of sustainable cheap energy, and enhance forestry and peatland restoration.
The report has been publi shed weeks after an investigation by The Scots man revealed how wealthy landowners had been paid millions in EU subsidies since the Brexit referendum.
The report states: “What is clear is that Scotland needs a serious discussion and debate about land use and the choices we might make.
”This is likely to be a difficult and heated exchange, but is necessary nonetheless. It needs all sectors involved, including renewable en ergy, tourism and housing, as well as the traditional sectorso f agriculture, forestry, water and the environmental.
"It should include local and national organisations and regulatory bodies such as the Scottish Land Commission, SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage), SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) and national and local planning authorities. The private sector, including land owners, must also engage constructively. Given Scotland’ s concentrated land ownership and often fragile ecological and economic communities, all major landowners should be required to develop landuse ambition statements, which then would be subject to public and planning scrutiny. Decisions should be devolved down to bodies which are best placed to understand the particular regional circumstances, ensuring that there is democratic accountability."
John Glen, chief executive of Buccleuch, one of S cotland’s biggest landowners, who produced the report for Reform Scotland, said :“In Scotland we often discuss who owns the land but seldom discuss what we actually want to use the land for.
"We must now get serious about how we manage and support rural Scotland to everyone’s benefit.