Ken Thomson
In spring 2017, the Scottish Government undertook a public consultation on "Guidance on Engaging Communities in Decisions Relating to Land". This related to Part 4 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 ("the Act"), under which Scottish Ministers have a duty to issue "guidance about engaging communities in decisions relating to land which may affect communities" ("the Guidance"), in particular - but not exclusively - decisions relating to communities with a "right to buy land to further sustainable development" under Part 5 of the Act. Under this Part (which is expected to take effect in 2018), Scottish Ministers may consent to the transfer of land to a community body, or a nominated third party, and, in doing so, may take account of the evidence that a landowner has, or has not, engaged adequately with "the relevant community". The Draft Guidance issued for consultation aims to help land owners and land managers to adopt "best practice" in this respect.
The North East Mountain Trust has no current plans to claim a right to buy any land within its area of interest. However, it is concerned that its views should be routinely recognised by relevant estates when they consider changes in land management or ownership in the hills. In this respect, it feels that the Draft Guidance is focussed too much (and in some places exclusively) on the "local" community or communities, and ignores "communities of interest" such as the Trust and other organisations (e.g. history or scientific clubs and societies) that may have a deep and longstanding concern over the area. The Draft Guidance also seems to underplay "routine activities" such as forestry operations, which can dramatically alter landscape and access characteristics.
Consequently, in June 2017, the Trust submitted an online response to the consultation, pointing out the above deficiencies. Its response is available on the SG website, along with about 40 others. Of these responses, about a third each came from organisations or individuals with land-owning, outdoor-activity or community interests respectively. Several in the latter two groups identified the need to include "wider communities" or "communities of interest" in the Guidance's coverage. Landowners were more concerned with greater clarity over when and how "engagement" would be expected.
At time of writing, no further progress with this consultation is known. However, it is likely that the Scottish Government will have the responses analysed before proceeding further with the Guidance in 2018.
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