Land ownership
Answer:
Half of Scotland is owned by just 500 people, few of whom are actually Scots. As Britain's great land-owning aristocratic families decline, a new breed of foreign laird is exploiting Scotland's arcane land laws to buy up tracts of the Highlands and islands - Europe's last great wilderness. In 2018/2019 it was reported that the largest landowner owns 221,000 acres (890 km2; 345 sq mi) of land in Scotland. The government believes 57% of rural land is in private hands, about 12.5% owned by public bodies, 3% under community ownership and about 2.5% is owned by charities etc.
Full answer here: Land ownership in Scotland
Scotland needs a radical grassroots movement for land justice again
Author / Creator: Heather Urquhart
Media type: Article
Date published:
A look at global struggles, or even our own history, offers a reminder that land justice has never been gifted, it’s been fought for.
Own Yersel Scotland: Reimagining the future – Keynote Address by Michael Russell
Author / Creator: Michael Russell
Media type: Article
Date published:
Reflections on land reform and a vision for the future
Understanding Urban Community Landownership
Author / Creator: Community Land Scotland
Media type: Blog
Date published: 2024
Urban communities are facing additional challenges in their community land buy outs.
Land Reform for a Democratic, Sustainable and Just Scotland
Author / Creator: Laurie Macfarlane
Media type: Book
Date published: 2023
The ownership, governance and use of land in Scotland remains stuck in the past.
Land Reform for a Democratic, Sustainable and Just Scotland
Author / Creator: Laurie Macfarlane
Media type: Report
Date published: 2023
Ahead of the Land Reform Bill, this report sets out a bold agenda for land reform.
Land Reform Or Another Power Grab?
Author / Creator: Craig Dalzell
Media type: Article
Date published: 2024
The Scottish government has introduced land reform legislation to encourage community ownership by granting ministers powers to intervene in the sale of estates of more than 1,000 hectares.
Rural Land Sales 2020-2022
Author / Creator: Andy Wightman
Media type: Report
Date published: 2024
Record of large land sales for the period 2020-22
The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland and How They Got it
Author / Creator: Andy Wightman
Media type: Book
Date published: 2015
the untold story of how Scotland's legal establishment and politicians managed to appropriate land through legal fixes.
Land Jjustice Bill – Consultation Response
Author / Creator: Community Land Scotland
Media type: consultation response
Date published: 2024
Proposals to limit the amount of land that can be owned by a person outside of public interest.
Forest Ownership in Scotland: Policy Review
Author / Creator: Jon Hollingdale
Media type: Report
Date published: 2023
Forestry ownership is intimately related to the multi-faceted requirements of land reform.
Proposed Land Ownership and Public Interest (Scotland) Bill
Author / Creator: Craig Dalzell
Media type: consultation response
Date published: 2023
These proposals seek to change the way that Scotland buys, sells, transfers and holds land
Land Reform for the Common Good
Author / Creator: Calum MacLeod
Media type: Discussion Paper
Date published: 2023
The current form of land ownership does not promote the common good.
Small landholdings modernisation: consultation
Author / Creator: Scottish Government
Media type: Consultation paper
Date published: 2022
Views on proposals relating to the modernisation of small landholdings
Charles: King of the Landlords
Author / Creator: George Kerevan
Media type: Opinion
Date published: 2022
The Windsors are about land and land is about political control.
Land Reform In A Net Zero Nation
Author / Creator: Craig Dalzell
Media type: Policy Paper
Date published: 2022
Scotland cannot afford for this latest round of land reform to fail, as at least two previous attempts.
Who Owns Scotland
Author / Creator: Andy Wightman
Media type: Website
Date published: 2022 -
Who Owns Scotland is a project designed to provide information about who owns land in Scotland.
Land and Property Titles by Country of Origin: Report
Author / Creator: Registers of Scotland
Media type: Report
Date published: 31 December, annually
Land titles with a UK owner address outwith Scotland represent just under a sixth of the country’s land area.
Green finance, land reform and a just transition to net zero
Author / Creator: Jon Hollingdale
Media type: Discussion Paper
Date published: February 2022
Land reform is required to meet the climate change objectives of the Scottish Government.
The effects associated with concentrated and large-scale land ownership in Scotland: a research review
Author / Creator: Jayne Glass
Media type: Research review
Date published: March 2019
Central is the power that a landowner holds over local land use decisions and the extent to which local communities and other stakeholders can influence/inform those decisions.