SEBG News Archive
Estates group calls for common sense to prevail in community buy outs
5th November 2004The Scottish Estates Business Group today (05 November 2004) called for common sense to prevail in attempts by community bodies to buy rural estates under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act.
Following reports that the sale of part of Assynt Estate in Sutherland is facing being suspended for a second time under the new legislation, Andrew Bruce Wootton, deputy chairman of the Scottish Estates Business Group, said today: "The situation at Assynt is causing confusion and uncertainty and cannot be doing the community body, the employees of the estate or the owners any good whatsoever.
"The provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act were intended to clarify the issues around community buy-outs. Instead, we appear to have a situation where the sale of an estate is on one day, off the next, back on the day after and then off again. Surely, this cannot be the state of affairs envisaged by the Scottish Executive and we would appeal for common sense to prevail in what are clearly uncharted waters.
"Estate owners offering land for sale often do business with their local communities without anyone having to resort to legislation. Indeed, the Scottish Executive encourages community bodies to do this. An application to register an interest in land should be dealt with in a straightforward manner and any sale which does not progress through negotiation should clearly follow the new legislative provisions."
