The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 has now been in operation for 7 years. As a reminder, in summary, it introduced:-

A statutory public right of non-motorised access to land (including inland waters), to be exercised “responsibly” by those doing so and requiring Land Managers also to act “responsibly” in relation to access rights. The statutory provisions on the “right to roam” as it is popularly known, are supplemented by The Scottish Outdoor Access Code which, itself, is of no statutory effect and is, therefore, for guidance only;

A Community Right to Buy – the right of local communities to form community bodies and, having registered their interest in the land concerned, to pre-empt its sale in the open market and to purchase it either at an agreed price, or at valuation;

A Crofting Community Right to Buy – the right of communities in the crofting counties to force Landlords to sell land, whether or not it is on the market for sale.

 

In April 2010 the Centre for Mountain Studies, based at Perth College, was commissioned by the Scottish Government to scrutinise the operation of the Act, with the aim of:

• determining the extent of use of the provisions of the Act;
• reviewing the evidence of any wider impact of the Act on recreational access to land, the Community Right to Buy and Crofting Community Right to Buy;
• identifying views on implementation of the provisions;
• examining stakeholders’ experiences of community land buyouts and crofting land buyouts outwith the provisions of the Act;
• identifying any barriers to greater use of the provisions;
• identifying options for change to the provisions themselves or their implementation which could encourage their greater use.

The conclusions of this review have now been published. To read our summary of those conclusions please click here.

Further information

For further information on the issues raised in this ezine, please contact Jim Drysdale, John Mitchell or Douglas Reid, or your usual contact within the Land Resources Team.

This bulletin is for general information only and does not constitute legal, investment or other professional advice. Please contact us should you require advice on any particular legal issue. Anderson Strathern LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise if reliance is placed on any information or opinions expressed in this bulletin.