The Scottish Farmer

Agritouris­m ‘strangled by red tape’

- By Claire Taylor

THE growth potential of Scotland’s agritouris­m sector is being ‘strangled by red tape’ and a series of planned policy changes which many are calling an ‘attack on rural businesses.’

Proposals for a Local Visitor Levy Bill, due to come before the Scottish Parliament this spring, would mean that everyone staying in accommodat­ion in Scotland will have to be charged a local tourist tax. Crofters, Lindsay Robertson and Donald John, from the Isle of South Uist, who run Long Island Retreats, warned that this would make it more expensive for tourists to visit and could end up turning away vital footfall and investment in rural island areas.

“Visitors to our islands are already subject to the highest VAT rates and passenger duties in Europe, and this is another tax which makes us less competitiv­e as an agritouris­m sector,” said Lindsay.

Rob and Emma Niven, who run Loch Leven’s Larder, raised concerns over proposals for a bottle return scheme, which would require them to process and store public waste, necessitat­ing a significan­t reallocati­on of resources, personnel, and time.

“The government is passing the buck to us, to solve a problem that they haven’t been able to get on top of themselves, without any consultati­on with businesses or any clear details on what the scheme is going to look like, yet it is coming in less than six months,” said Rob. “The government wants us to become a recycling centre so the public can dump their waste on behalf of someone else.”

A consultati­on seeking views on a proposed ban on alcohol advertisin­g in Scotland is also currently in progress and for farmers like Jenny McKerr, who set up the Wee Farm Distillery five years ago, would severely threaten her ability to market her gins and grow the business.

“It is not an option for us to build up a following and a market for five years, to then have to stop promoting it,” stressed Jenny. “It is hugely frustratin­g that as farmers, we are being encouraged to diversify and safeguard our businesses, then the next minute, we are being pelted by policies that seem to attack both our recovery from the pandemic and future growth.”

David Smythe, of Cloag Farm Cottages, in Perth, had as his main concern, plans for ‘Short Term Lets Licensing’, due to come into force in October.

“We have been running our three cottages for over 30 years and will now be hit with a £1600 fee to cover a three-year license. The same cottages would be looking at £400 over the Border in Stirling. The future growth and viability of our rural businesses shouldn’t be put down to a post-code lottery.”

Fourth generation beef and sheep farmers, Amy and Murray McConchie, were refused planning permission to build pods on their farm in Gatehouse of Fleet after a 32-week wait, which cost them £15,000 in private surveys and consultati­ons.

“It is just so frustratin­g when others around us, including our family who run Laggan, are being given the go ahead to increase their number of pods, yet we seem to be penalised as our pods are deemed a ‘new cluster’, as opposed to an extension,” they told the SF. “These outdated views are stifling new growth and developmen­t and will prevent new entrants to agritouris­m, from getting a foothold.”

 ?? ?? AMY AND Murray McConchie offer on-farm accommodat­ion in their 3 Little Huts in the Gatehouse of Fleet and have been knocked back from putting in new pods
AMY AND Murray McConchie offer on-farm accommodat­ion in their 3 Little Huts in the Gatehouse of Fleet and have been knocked back from putting in new pods
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