The Growth of Community Land Management and Ownership in the Highlands and Islands in the 1990s and beyond

Lorna Campbell,
Community Land Unit, Highlands & Islands Enterprise

Introduction

The concept of community land ownership and management is not new: the history of community and not-for-profit land ownership in Scotland dates back over 150 years¹. However this review concentrates on recent developments, describing the role of government policy and agencies in supporting this movement in the last decade and focusing on the contribution of the Community Land Unit in particular.

The Development of Crofting Trusts

In 1990, the government expressed the desire to explore the transfer to its tenants of crofting estates in Skye and Raasay managed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAFS)². A consultation paper, "Possible Disposal of the Secretary of State Crofting Estates to Community Ownership" was issued seeking the views of crofters and interested parties. In response, the then Highlands and Islands Development Board³, in partnership with the Scottish Crofters Union (SCU), commissioned a study to analyse the future of such estates in Skye and Raasay and the practical implications for crofting communities of making such a move.

Shortly afterwards, the early 1990s saw the successful acquisition of land from private owners by crofting communities in both Assynt in north-west Sutherland, and Borve and Annishadder in Skye⁴. To guide and support other crofting communities expressing an interest in such buyouts, the Crofting Trust Advisory Service (CTAS) was set up towards the end of 1995. This partnership, between the Crofters Commission and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, provided access to specialist advice and funding to allow crofting communities to examine the feasibility and financial implications of transferring ownership of the Department's estates to a local crofting interest. CTAS was structured to draw on the experience of groups which had been through the acquisition process, recruiting advisors from Assynt, and Borve and Annishadder.

In parallel, the SCU led an exercise to look at the feasibility of establishing a pan-Highland Crofting Land Trust, which might have potential to act as an overarching body to facilitate and administer such a change in ownership and control. However, this was not progressed, as action and control by locally based trusts was felt by some to be more appropriate.

Following his appointment as Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Forsyth initiated a repeat consultation in February 1996, again seeking views on the disposal of the crofting estates for which he had become landlord. This resulted in the Conservative Government passing the Transfer of Crofting Estates (Scotland) Act 1997, which provides the legislative framework for the transfer of the Department estates to crofting trusts, if there is agreement and consensus among local crofting tenants.

Initially, there was a flurry of interest from a number of crofting townships, and by mid-2000, CTAS had attended 22 open and township meetings, provided nine additional advisory visits, assisted with legal fees for four cases and provided assistance with eight feasibility studies. Two of these were in the Uists, three in Sutherland and three in Skye.

However, crofters usually face a dilemma once the feasibility study is completed and they sit down to look at the benefits that would accrue through direct ownership. There have been, as yet, no successful transfers of Department estates to the local crofting community as a result of the Transfer of Crofting Estates (Scotland) Act 1997. Crofters' reasons for maintaining the status quo have centred around a number of factors, namely: the lack of perceived benefit from transfer of ownership; satisfaction with Department management and the Secretary of State as a landlord; differences of opinion between the townships involved; and, in a couple of cases, the feasibility study indicating that it would not be financially advisable for the crofters to take ownership as a trust.

There is also some doubt about whether such transfers could proceed "at no consideration" as originally intimated by Michael Forsyth, and the one community that is interested in owning a Department estate is currently in negotiation on this point. CTAS has assisted with legal fees to enable two transfers of ownership, one from a private landlord in Melness, Sutherland and the other of Forest Enterprise land at Tarvie in Ross-shire. A third community is in the process of concluding their purchase from a private landlord. In another two cases (one involving a private landlord and one Forest Enterprise) crofting communities are still assessing the results of feasibility studies.

The Creation of the Community Land Unit

While the media focused on events in Assynt during 1992, and the potential for crofting trusts was being explored in the years that followed, other long-standing struggles continued elsewhere in the Highlands and Islands. The most notable examples were on the Isle of Eigg and the Knoydart peninsula where residents had long experienced social and economic problems due to lack of investment and co-operation by the private landowner. These included severe constraints on their freedom as tenants to initiate developments. The early nineties also saw an increase in campaigning activities in Laggan, Strathspey, in response to rumours of the sale of Forest Enterprise land. The community interest at Laggan was largely based on the potential for local job creation in forest management. However at Abriachan, near Inverness, it was initially concern over rights of access that led the small community to explore the possibilities of ownership when FE advertised woodland on the open market in 1995.

These pioneering community land initiatives were given political support by the incoming Labour Government in 1997, shortly after the islanders of Eigg succeeded in buying the island. They were able to do so as a result of their own persistence, support from The Highland Council and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and good fortune in fund-raising. At the handover ceremony to the newly constituted Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust in June 1997, the then Minister of State, Brian Wilson, announced that Highlands and Islands Enterprise would establish a Community Land Unit (CLU), under its strategic priority of Strengthening Communities. The work of the unit would be dedicated to supporting communities wishing to own or manage the land they live on or nearby, for the benefit and development of the local community.

Prior to this, Highlands and Islands Enterprise's network had encouraged community buy-outs, with Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise approving £50,000 towards the Assynt Crofters Trust purchase fund, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise contributing £17,500 to the Eigg fund-raising effort.

The formative months of the CLU were spent researching and establishing the needs of such community land initiatives, and consulting with agencies and communities about how the CLU should operate and the type of services it should provide. The unit also piloted support programmes to newly emerging community land groups. In April 1998, the CLU became more firmly established with the recruitment of full-time dedicated staff - two based in Inverness and one based in Skye, with part-time administrative support. In response to increases in both the number of enquiries and demand for the unit's services, a further community land adviser was recruited in January 2000. To cover operational costs, the CLU budget initially comprised HIE finances of £250,000 per annum, matched by £96,000 of Objective One funds, over a three-year period, from the Highlands and Islands Partnership Programme. This was soon supplemented by a commitment, from the then Scottish Office⁵, to provide a dedicated Community Land Purchase Fund, of a quarter of a million pounds in the financial year 1998/9, and a million pounds per year for the following three years.

With help from the new unit other community-led initiatives also achieved success, although at this time the CLU always acted as funder of last resort, providing 'last brick in the wall' funding. Abriachan Forest Trust concluded its purchase of the forest and open hill ground in March 1998, after being awarded £30,000 - 20 per cent of the purchase price. This was the first land acquisition assisted by the CLU. After prolonged preparatory work and negotiation, the Laggan community launched a formal partnership and management agreement between Forest Enterprise and Laggan Forest Trust in September 1998, having received assistance from the CLU in setting up the trust. Just over six months later the Knoydart Foundation successfully acquired the Knoydart estate, in March 1999, with a CLU contribution of £75,000 towards the purchase price of £750,000.

As the two support units, CTAS and the CLU, were then operating in tandem, it was agreed that any crofting-related enquiries would be initially referred to CTAS, which would assist crofting townships through the feasibility stage and up to the point of making a decision on the potential transfer of ownership.

The Community Land Unit's Work Programme

The activities of the CLU are not restricted to providing finance for community buy-outs. Following consultation with its potential users, the CLU established three key areas of work:

Promotion

The huge amount of press coverage surrounding the Isle of Eigg and the Knoydart cases, following the publicity achieved by the Assynt Crofters Trust, resulted in a high profile for, and active debate on, community land ownership. Debate was further stimulated by the Scottish Office Land Reform Policy Group's consultation process during 1998 and 1999. Consequently, the CLU's role has largely been to promote the services it offers, rather than to encourage interest in the concept of community land ownership.

The CLU now monitors land coming onto the property market in the Highlands and Islands on a weekly basis, with a view to identifying any areas where there may be community interest. However, although the CLU alerts communities to local sales that they may not know about, the job of the CLU is to respond to community interest. The CLU does not encourage or expect communities to take over land where the community has no desire to do so, does not perceive any benefit or does not feel it has sufficient resources.

Advice and Financial Support

Providing advice and financial support has been by far the greatest area of activity within the unit. Since its inception, the CLU has taken nearly 400 enquiries from throughout the Highlands and Islands. These have steadily increased in volume over the three years, as indicated by the graph, with a marked surge recently as a result of the publicity surrounding the Scottish Land Fund.

The enquiries are of a diverse nature. They reflect the flexible way the CLU has defined 'community land', to include woodland, buildings, water resources, mineral and sporting rights in addition to estates, farms and crofting land.

CLU staff can provide this support directly - by telephone, letter, information handouts or attendance at meetings. However, in many cases we have liaised with Local Enterprise Company staff who have local knowledge and in many cases a relationship with the applicant community group. They have often played a crucial role in guiding the community through these early stages. The CLU can also provide financial assistance to community groups wishing to contract specialist professional advisors, such as solicitors, surveyors or accountants. This is one of our most popular services in the planning stages.

The following table summarises the financial assistance provided to community land initiatives by the CLU, for the period to February 2001. The initiatives cover both planning and acquisition activities. Of the 37 successful community buyouts and management agreements assisted, the majority of properties (25) have been acquired from private owners. Ten of these have been through direct negotiation with a willing seller, as opposed to bidding on the open market. In six of the cases the land was previously Forest Enterprise holdings, and in six others holdings were purchased from a range of public sector bodies, including the Health Board, HIE, local authorities, the Ministry of Defence and the Northern Lighthouse Board. In addition, the CLU has supported five open market bids for community purchase which have failed on price.

Type of CLU Influence

Number and type of cases assisted

Acquisition and Management agreements

Infrastructural developments

Start up grants

Feasibility studies and business plans

Valuation surveys

Legal advice

Project officers and community animateurs

Capacity building events/ projects

In cases where Forest Enterprise land has been sold preferentially to the community, rather than on the open market, the CLU has assisted in attaining 'sponsorship' from the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) or Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). This process endorses the applicant as a legitimate community body, with local support, that has a right to buy outwith competitive bidding.

Capacity Building

Once a new community land group has acquired land, the CLU provides continuing support, in conjunction with the appropriate Local Enterprise Company and other appropriate agencies. The CLU is particularly keen to encourage exchange and dialogue between community groups which have already experienced the process of land acquisition and management. In this light, the CLU is also supporting a range of capacity-building activities on an ongoing basis.

Since 1997 the CLU has worked in partnership with the Not-for-Profit (NfP) Landowners Group, contributing towards the costs of running a series of workshops on social land planning and management in the period 1997 to 1999. These have resulted in the production of a Whole Estate Plan format, which is now to be tested by a number of community land initiatives. This volume of case studies, produced by the NfP Landowners Group, is the third in a series that the CLU has part-funded.

To enhance communities' capacity to develop a land project, a combination of HIE and Objective One funds have been used to trial a Community Animateur Scheme. This provides remuneration, on a part-time basis, for a local person to dedicate time to specific activities identified by the group, and so help the project move forward more quickly - particularly in the planning stages. To date six projects have taken up this opportunity, with two further applications pending. Key tasks being undertaken include conducting community surveys and workshops, research, writing management plans, and compiling a strategy to develop archaeological sites on an estate.

In March 2000, the Community Forestry Facilitators Pilot Project commenced, with the CLU as a funding partner along with Forest Enterprise and SNH, and Highland Birchwoods as managers of the project. Two full-time facilitators are raising awareness and interest and building the strength of communities near Forest Enterprise woodlands. The overall objective of the pilot is to explore ways in which the agencies can work together better and enable increased community involvement in management and decision-making within these forest holdings.

Prior to this pilot, the CLU also participated in the Rural Development Forestry Liaison Group, the precursor to the recently established Forestry Commission Advisory Panel 'Forests for People'. The group jointly funded and produced a set of 20 case studies of community woodland initiatives, located throughout the UK, but predominantly in Scotland. These can now be accessed through the 'Communities' section of the Forestry Commission website (www.forestry.gov.uk).

More recently, the CLU has made a commitment to supporting Reforesting Scotland in delivering two of its community conferences, and compiling a directory of community woodland groups in Scotland. The first conference took place in Laggan in November 2000, with great interest from participants in establishing an independent Community Woodland Association. The CLU is joint-funding a scoping exercise to help potential members examine the role, feasibility and format of such a body. The CLU is also able to provide match funding to individual projects to enable Reforesting Scotland to undertake Participatory Rural Appraisal exercises for interested community woodland groups.

In addition the CLU, in co-operation with Local Enterprise Companies, is in the process of developing a more structured and comprehensive approach to the provision of exchanges between groups in the Highlands and Islands, and also training for Boards of Directors, staff and volunteers in community land groups. It is hoped to draw on the valuable local community experience that has grown during the last five years.

Policy Development

During 1998 and 1999, the CLU was heavily involved in stimulating the debate on the reform of land tenure in Scotland. The unit supported a number of early conferences on land reform: Understanding Land Reform in Scotland; the 1998 Highland and Islands Forum Land Conference; The Crofting Law Group Conference; several sessions at the Not-for-Profit Landowners Group workshops; and the 1998 McEwen Lecture delivered by the late Donald Dewar, then Secretary of State for Scotland.

The CLU also prepared HIE's responses to all stages of the Scottish Office Land Reform Policy Group's consultation, and to the Scottish Executive's White Paper published in July 1999. The HIE responses were based on the CLU's practical experience of working together with aspiring and successful community land groups. The CLU also co-operated with the Land Reform Policy Group to undertake a series of roadshows, in an attempt to ensure that the proposals regarding land reform reached those practitioners who have first-hand experience in establishing community land projects.

Subsequently, we have convened two community seminars involving the longer standing community land groups; supported a land reform seminar organised by the Eigg Residents Association; and contributed to the SERAD Land Reform Consultation Panels on crofting, land information, and codes of practice for land management.

Now that the draft Land Reform Bill has been published, the CLU will be pressing hard to ensure that the proposals are practical and capable of implementation. We are taking a particular interest in the criteria for eligibility for the Community Right to Buy proposed in the draft Bill. Using case studies of groups the CLU has assisted, we are investigating whether they would have met the proposed criteria for definition of community; structure of the community organisation; and the relationship between the community and the land it wishes to buy.

Research

To date, only limited research has been carried out by the CLU owing to the pressure on us to deal with practical acquisition cases and the high demand this makes on our time. Information on all enquiries and all the cases assisted by the CLU is now logged on a database, to be used for analysis and research in the future. The CLU is working with groups involved in the larger land acquisitions to consider how best to collect data, both for a base line study at the point of purchase and on an ongoing basis. An exercise was conducted in 1999, involving the five largest community land-owners, to create a monitoring and evaluation framework for community land initiatives, which could be used by new groups in the future. The aim is twofold: firstly to provide, for Boards of community companies, management information on which to base their planning and decision making; and secondly to analyse the data and the case for community land ownership in the longer term, and document the difference that community control and management of land can make to rural development.

Following the Highland Council's establishment of a Landownership Database for the Highlands, the CLU funded an extension to this database into the Argyll and Bute area. So far there has been only limited use of the database, owing to the fact that potential users need to hold a licence from the Ordnance Survey.

A study has been undertaken examining the economic rationale for community land ownership. The CLU is also working in partnership with the Not-for-Profit Landowners Group to review the current profiles of organisations involved in social land ownership in the Highlands and Islands. This is a comparative exercise, relating to an earlier survey carried out in December 1996 prior to the establishment of the Not-for-Profit Landowners Group.

Perhaps our most widely known pilot or research project is the Orbost Estate in north-west Skye, which adjoins the Glendale Estate, whose story is told in this volume. This is a unique initiative, where HIE took on the ownership of a hill farm with the objective of creating smallholding and housing opportunities. We now have four tenants, three of whom are couples living on or near the estate. We hope to document the experiences of Orbost once the project is further established.

Other subjects identified for future research include: * Constraints imposed on local development by land tenure * Social and economic benefits resulting from community land ownership and management, in both the short and the long term * The economics of new approaches to estate and land management * Cost-effective sustainable methods to maintain and improve the environment * Methods of sharing information between existing and new community land groups.

Where to Now?

Legislation

The work of the CLU is entering a new and exciting phase. The recent publication of the draft Land Reform Bill allows us all an opportunity to respond and suggest amendments to this draft. The CLU will be compiling HIE's response, and will also be supporting and encouraging as many community initiatives as possible to submit responses based on their own experiences.

The Scottish Land Fund

Last year, the CLU made a successful bid to the New Opportunities Fund to administer the new ten million-pound Scottish Land Fund, as an award partner. The CLU proposals for the fund are based on its work with communities, and the feedback it has received about their needs during the planning, acquisition and management stages. This means that, in addition to delivering HIE priorities and funds, the CLU is now also managing these lottery funds on behalf of the New Opportunities Fund.

The Scottish Land Fund is being delivered through an expanded CLU team of ten, which means the addition of five new staff to the existing team. This element of the CLU's work is Scotland-wide, opening up funding opportunities to communities in east, central and southern Scotland. To deliver these new funds effectively, the CLU has recently opened a new office in Auchtertyre, Lochalsh, where four of the CLU team are now based, and has also appointed two new staff to work from home-based offices in Edinburgh and Oban. Decisions on applications will be made by the Scottish Land Fund Committee, which was appointed by the New Opportunities Fund in May 2000.

Growth of the Movement

As the community land movement grows, so does the strength and experience of groups leading existing community land initiatives. The CLU values this grass-roots expertise and has funding available to facilitate exchanges between groups and to enable experienced trusts to provide guidance to new trusts. During the past year, the demand from groups for networking and exchange has been growing, and two new networks are emerging; the Community Land Action Network (CLAN) and the Community Woodland Association (CWA). These two potential groups have similar broad agendas to, but a different membership constituency from, the broader-based Not-for-Profit Landowners Group. The latter promotes partnership and exchange between community-based groups, national and regional NGOs, and public bodies, all interested in land ownership for social benefit. The CLU is encouraging and supporting liaison and planning between these three networks to ensure that we can all gain maximum benefit from their operation.

There has been some discussion over the past year on community ownership and/or management of both the fisheries resource and the coastal foreshore, and these may be potential areas for future CLU involvement.

Conclusion

The ultimate goal for all community land projects is to enhance livelihoods and create opportunities in the local community. The challenge and hard work for community groups lies not in the acquisition of land itself, but in effecting a change in the priorities and style of the land management that follows. The groups that we work with are looking at a diverse range of land management challenges and development opportunities, in particular trying to address the agricultural crisis and the current downturn in the tourism market. You will see from the case studies that follow, and those in the previous two volumes, that community land owners are examining potential in local processing of timber and game, improved deer management, organic production, and renewable energy among other ideas. A priority for the CLU over the forthcoming year is to link community land groups more effectively with opportunities for research, improved land management, business support and other relevant projects, particularly those available through the HIE network.

Footnotes

1. For an account of forerunners, please see "To Restore the Land to the People and the People to the Land: The Emergence of the Not-for-Private-Profit Landownership Sector in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland" by Graham Boyd, published in Volume 1 (1999) of this series.
2. DAFS has been replaced by the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD).
3. Replaced by Highlands and Island Enterprise in 1991
4. The term "crofting trust" probably derives from the Assynt crofters' adoption of the legal title - Assynt Crofters Trust (ACT). The term "trust" was considered appropriate for an organisation with social landowning objectives which would hold land on behalf of its members. Several non-crofting community groups have also adopted the term 'trust' and set up democratically elected and accountable bodies, which are to be distinguished from undemocratic private trusts. Assynt and Borve and Annishadder each set up, as a legally constituted body, a Company Limited By Guarantee with Memorandum and Articles which state their social landownership objectives, and a number of other community groups have followed this practice.
5. Now the Scottish Executive.