Row over deal to sell rural land

A16,500-acre Angus estate has been snapped up by a Scottish Government agency in a private land deal.

The sale of Glenprosen Estate to Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) for a rumoured £25 million has come under fire over the issue of so-called “green lairds” buying up huge tracts of land.

Holyrood wants to see a clampdown on off-market sales which are blamed for driving up rural land prices.

The Scottish Conservatives have labelled the Glenprosen purchase a “backroom deal”.

The estate north of Kirriemuir sits in one of the five Highland glens of Angus.

Estate owner Robin Batchelor has declined to comment on the sale, which is due to conclude next month.

Five jobs will be affected in the deal, but FLS said three staff have already been offered tenancies on the estate.

FLS added they were just one of several potential buyers the landowner approached.

The agency, which manages forests and lands for the Scottish Government, will focus on woodland creation and biodiversity in Glenprosen.

A spokesman said: “It is incumbent upon us to manage these resources in such a way as to maximise environmental, biodiversity and social benefits whilst also increasing our net contribution to Scotland’s climate emergency mitigation effort.

“The landowner made off-market approaches to several potential buyers, including FLS.

“We opted to bid on Glenprosen because it offered an opportunity to consolidate our wider land holding in the area.”

Scottish Conservative shadow rural affairs secretary Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “This is a typical case of the SNP’S secret Scotland.

“They’ve expressed a desire to clamp down on these sort of sales and have promised to be transparent, yet one of their own agencies has conducted a multi-million backroom deal for a major estate.

“Ministers have serious questions to answer over whether they are on the same page as their agencies when it comes to land use and exactly what their intentions are.”

The Scottish Government was asked for comment.

PURCHASE: Glenprosen Estate has been sold for a rumoured £25 million.