Holyrood’s Net Zero Committee to visit Highland Perthshire estates to further its scrutiny of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Members will begin their visit at Atholl Estates, a traditional mixed-use estate held in a family trust, before heading to Aberfeldy where they will co-host, along with Aberfeldy Development Trust, a community event where invited local stakeholders can share their views directly with MSPs.

Members will then visit Invergeldie Estate which, owned by Oxygen Conservation, practises a new and different model of estate management, investing directly in the acquisition of land to protect and restore natural processes.

Committee Convener, Edward Mountain MSP and Member Mark Ruskell MSP will both attend the visit. Speaking in advance of the visit, Committee Convener, Edward Mountain MSP said;

“We hope that this visit will bring to life some of the issues which have been discussed during the evidence sessions we’ve held with a range of experts at the Scottish Parliament. It should also help us get to the heart of how the Bill will impact the management of estates of differing sizes and models of ownership and what rural communities feel about land reform.

"Hearing the differing views and aspirations local stakeholders and community groups have about the Bill will provide valuable insight. We’ll take all our learning back to Holyrood to inform our scrutiny and ultimately the recommendations we make in our Stage 1 report.”

The Bill sets out reforms which aim to change the pattern of land ownership in rural and island communities and impose new requirements on larger estates across Scotland. Reforms include, for example, that the sale of land, by those owning over 1,000 hectares, may be disallowed until Ministers have considered the impact on local communities.

Landowners may be required to break up their land into smaller ‘lots’ when selling, and provide advance notice of pending sales, to encourage interest from communities.

Another set of reforms in the Bill is to agricultural tenancies. In the Scottish Government’s view, these update the law to deal better with modern challenges like climate change and rebalance aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship.

Overall, the Scottish Government says that its underlying vision is for “a Scotland with a strong and dynamic relationship between its land and people, where all land contributes to a modern, sustainable and successful country, supports a just transition to net zero, and where rights and responsibilities in relation to land and its natural capital are fully recognised and fulfilled.”

Media interested in interviewing Committee members on the day, please contact Hilda Stewart on 07583 107104 or the email noted below.