THE Scottish Government’s land reform initiative is a long overdue measure to tackle problems which are particularly acute in a country where the ownership of huge estates is a particularly vexed question.
Earlier this week, The National reported on the month-long Our Land campaign which aims to shine a spotlight on the fairness of land ownership in Scotland.
Its organisers include land reform campaigners Andy Wightman and National columnist Lesley Riddoch. They argue that reform is particularly needed in a country where “a handful of individuals, quangos, insurance companies and trusts based in offshore tax havens dictate the price, availability and use of land’’.
This can have a devastating effect, not just in rural communities but in cities where too many homes lie derelict while families are priced out of the property market.
While campaigners have welcomed the Scottish Government’s initiative in principle – after all, doing something is better than the inactivity we have witnessed for decades – some have expressed reservations about the detail of the plans.
There is particular unhappiness at the disappearance of a commitment to bar offshore companies (which are often used to launder money and to evade tax) from owning land in Scotland.
The public is being asked its opinion of the proposals through the consultation on the Land Reform Bill, which was published in June.
Today is the final day to submit evidence to the Government on its plans. As this is a fundamental issue for the future of Scotland and for the fight for a fairer country, we would urge our readers to express their views while the door is still open for them to do so.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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