Scottish Land Commission

In The National Newspaper this week, Hamish Trench sets out the steps that would be needed to introduce a land value tax, and the challenges that would be faced in introducing workable and long lasting land tax reform.

With over half of the UK’s wealth tied up in land and property, the way we tax land affects not only who owns it but how that wealth benefits the broader economy.

Land value taxation has long been proposed as an effective way to tax. It is seen as fair because the value of land is significantly socially created by public investments, policy and regulation. It is seen as economically effective because it doesn’t disincentivise productive activity and has the advantage of being hard to avoid.

While the theory for LVT is compelling, introducing it in practice has proved more challenging.

Introducing a single land value tax to replace several existing taxes, however strong the theory, is unlikely to be practical in one step and the basic building blocks are not currently in place to make it workable. There is though, a strong case to reform annual land and property tax and change existing taxes to better tax land value.

Read more 👉 https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24690423.land-value-tax-system-offers-real-alternative/

Thank you to everyone who joined our 🔗Land Links webinar last night and contributed to a great discussion 💬

For anyone who couldn’t make it but would like to know more about how changing behaviours and policy are influencing how land is owned and used in Scotland the replay is now available on our YouTube channel ⏯️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feyxqb5dF4U

With another five webinars in this series, there is still plenty of opportunity to join the discussion on land issues 🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/scottish-land-commission-14422431232

🔗 LAND LINKS: What is changing in land reform? In the first of the Land Links series, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission, Hamish Trench, and Policy & Practice Lead, James MacKessack-Leitch, d...

🔗Land Links starts tomorrow with our sold-out webinar – What is changing in land reform?

Over 150 people have signed up to connect and learn about how changing behaviours and policy are influencing how land is owned and used in Scotland.

If you missed out on this event, don’t worry, we will be publishing a recording on our YouTube channel there are five more webinars in the 🔗Land Links series for you to join 👇

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/scottish-land-commission-14422431232

🌳 Great to see the good practice guide for engagement with local people and communities in new woodland creation proposals published.

Well done to Confor for bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to create a guide that’s truly embedded in the industry and supports meaningful community engagement.

We encourage more of this collaborative approach to promote responsible woodland creation.
https://www.confor.org.uk/media/3777050/good-practice-guide.pdf

Great event yesterday, the Housing Challenge Summit hosted by the Highland Council brought together voices from across the housing sector including local and national government and private interests.

💡 Key Takeaways 💡

🏘️ Highland Council plans to declare 3 Masterplan Consent Areas to drive housing in areas of economic growth, aligning with the Commission’s recommendations on land assembly and de-risking.

💰 £6 million committed by Highland Council to the Highland Landbank Fund, a crucial step toward de-risking sites and unlocking development.

🏗️ SSEN committed to delivering 1,000 homes for temporary worker accommodation, which will later transition to housing association properties.

A highly productive event, that highlighted how public/private joint ventures and institutional investment can play a huge role in de-risking and attracting long-term investment for housing with more focused follow-ups planned for early 2024.

🚜 Rent review coming up?

It's important for both tenants and landlords to know the process, rights, and obligations. While rent reviews can sometimes be stressful, clear communication and following good practice can make them fair and constructive.

The Tenant Farming Commissioner (TFC) provides helpful Codes of Practice and guidance to ensure fairness, transparency, and collaboration during rent reviews. These resources can help make the process smoother and our available on our website.

Don't forget about our Tenant Farming helpline, available to anyone with an interest in letting land, landlords, tenants, agents of either, and anyone looking for more information on agricultural tenancy and letting matters.

📞 01463 423 300
📧 [email protected]

Our next tenant farming newsletter will land in inboxes at the end of this month. If you would like a copy, sign up to join our mailing list 📧

http://eepurl.com/duErrf

Report published by the Tenant Farming Commissioner reveals significant progress in landlord-tenant relations within Scotland’s farming sector.

A summary and review by Research Resource are both available on our website 👇

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/news/new-report-shows-significant-shift-in-landlord-tenant-relations-for-scotlands-farmers?p_slug=news

We recently shared a review on how progress is being made to tackle Vacant and Derelict Land (VDL) throughout Scotland. Now, NatureScot has published a blog showcasing some great examples of how VDL has been transformed into greenspace benefitting both nature and communities.

The blog points out several advantages of re-using VDL for green spaces:

💪 Better health: Access to nature can improve people’s mental and physical health
💧 Flood management: Green spaces can help manage heavy rainfall and flooding due to climate change
🐿 Wildlife habitats: They provide homes for wildlife near towns and cities
💬 Community involvement: Local communities can have a say in shaping their area.

We’d like to thank Kerry Wallace at NatureScot for writing this blog. It addresses an area where we believe we can do more to support VDL re-use. Our review found that while there has been good progress in Scotland, we need to develop a national programme to support re-use of VDL as greenspace to help us meet climate targets and improve access to nature.

We hope the report and blogs like this will spark conversations about how to support more vacant land being transformed this way.

Transforming derelict land – for nature and people We recently welcomed publication of a report by the Scottish Land Commission on the progress made to tackle Scotland’s legacy of vacant and derelict land. In today’s blog, NatureScot’s Kerry Wallac…

💡 For Scotland, natural capital is more than just a resource — it's part of our national identity and sustainability.

The Scottish Government is encouraging responsible private investment in our forests, wetlands, and peatlands through a Natural Capital Market Framework that will be published later this year and our approach to land reform shows how we can balance economic growth with caring for the environment and our communities.

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/responsible-private-investment-in-natural-capital-a-scottish-land-reform-perspective

When is a 91 Act tenancy not a 91 Act tenancy?

Tenant Farming Manager, Peter, shares his personal experience managing his written lease and how he avoided a sizeable pitfall that might have risked the security of his tenancy.

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/when-is-a-91-act-tenancy-not-a-91-act-tenancy

Introducing 🔗 Land Links – a brand new series of webinars from the Commission aimed at boosting awareness of land reform and land rights, while sparking conversation between landowners and communities

Registration is open now on Eventbrite and topics will cover why land reform matters, community and landowner collaboration, opportunities for community ownership and practical steps for engaging landowners. The webinars will provide an introduction for anyone with an interest in land use and ownership in Scotland and provide an opportunity to talk to the Commission’s Good Practice Team and guest speakers who are involved in inspiring land partnership projects.

Scroll to find out more about the series and head to Eventbrite to book your place and join the conversation 💬

📅 Tuesday 29 October: What is changing in land reform?
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-is-changing-in-land-reform-tickets-1036606968347

📅 Tuesday 12 November: What are Land Rights and Responsibilities? A guide for everyone.
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-are-land-rights-and-responsibilities-a-guide-for-everyone-tickets-1036647700177

📅 Tuesday 19 November: Where can you find information about land?
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/where-can-you-find-information-about-land-tickets-1036648833567

📅 Tuesday 26 November: What happens when landowners and communities work together?
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-happens-when-landowners-and-communities-work-together-tickets-1036654490487

📅 Tuesday 3 December: How can you engage with local landowners?
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-can-you-engage-with-local-landowners-tickets-1036656646937

📅 Tuesday 10 December: What opportunities are there for community land ownership and use?
🎫 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-opportunities-are-there-for-community-land-ownership-and-use-tickets-1036658271797

The importance of access to nature and green space became clear during covid, as did inequalities in access depending on where people lived and their re-use of vacant and derelict land has the potential to widen access to nature networks if there is a programme of work to turn derelict sites into green space.

Our recent VDL report highlights some real progress made since 2020 with 20% of some of the most challenging vacant and derelict sites removed from the register having become naturalised, creating flourishing habitats that support biodiversity 🌼

But more can be done. One of our recommendations includes making the case for a national programme to support local authorities, communities and landowners to convert VDL into greenspace 💚

🚨 Job Opportunity: Corporate Services Assistant 🚨

📍 Location: Inverness (Hybrid working available)
💼 Salary: £28,934 - £30,676
🕒 Hours: 35 per week (Flexible working options)
📄 Contract: Permanent

We are hiring a Corporate Services Assistant to support our Finance, HR, and governance functions. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone experienced in business administration to work in a dynamic, cross-team environment.

What we offer:

⏺ Civil Service Pension (over 28% employer contribution)
⏺ 25 days annual leave + 11.5 public holidays (increasing with service)
⏺ Flexible & hybrid working
⏺ Professional development opportunities
⏺ Employee Assistance Programme
⏺ Cycle-to-work & employee discounts

📅 Closing date: 5 pm, 17 October 2024
📍 Interviews: Inverness, 30 & 31 October 2024

Find out more and apply here 👉 landcommission.gov.scot/work-for-us

Four years on from our VDL taskforce recommendations, this review by Ryden looks at some of the progress made in addressing vacant and derelict land and shows encouraging signs of progress including a 27% reduction of sites on the SVDL register since 2016 📉

Much of the progress has been made in re-use of sites for housing which accounts for 51% of re-use purpose 🏘

The report evaluates progress and need for further action as well as highlighting good practice and examples of successful land re-use.

You can read the full report and summary on our website.

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/news/steady-progress-being-made-in-tackling-scotlands-vacant-and-derelict-land-and-opportunities-to-deliver-more?p_slug=news

Bringing abandoned and unloved urban places back into use could help us tackle climate change 🌍

This we will be sharing how tackling vacant and derelict land can play its part in realising Scotland’s ambition of becoming a Net Zero Nation ♻️

Transport is responsible for over 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland with road traffic being the largest contributor 🚗

By reusing vacant and derelict land for housing in towns it can not only create thriving town centres, but also reduce the need for people to drive to access nearby services and amenities, encouraging active travel 🚶‍♀️ 🚲

Good Practice Advisor, Uwe Stoneman, at today’s IUCN Peatland Programme Conference in Aviemore helping to deliver a workshop looking at how and why peatland projects should provide community benefits 🌿

With over 400 people in attendance at the conference taking part in workshops like this, it is a fantastic forum to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities to unlocking community benefits from nature restoration.

If you are interested in more thinking in this area, we have recently published work from PhD student, Alys Daniels-Creasey, who has researched projects in the Cairngorms National Park to better understand how community benefits can be delivered from nature restoration, available on our website.

The Commission is a non-academic partner supporting The University of Edinburgh student Alys Daniels-Creasey with her PhD.

Alys is interested in the local community implications of natural capital markets and environmental/land use decision-making in Scotland and as part of her research has produced a paper looking at how community benefits are delivered from nature restoration projects in the Cairngorms National Park.

Alys’ report has been published on our website, along with a blog providing further insight into her research 👇
https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/delivering-community-benefits-from-nature-restoration-work

In our latest guest blog, Linsay Chalmers of Community Land Scotland analyses the key learning from a project supporting urban communities interested in land re-use, an area that our upcoming VDL review will highlight as requiring more action.

Read the full blog on our website 👉 https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/findings-from-community-land-scotlands-community-ownership-hub?p_slug=blog

Interested in more insight into addressing vacant and derelict land? Check out our blogs on recent successes including the launch of an online VDL map, and how the KLTR Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme is creating new opportunities for community ownership.

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/celebrating-the-launch-of-scotlands-vacant-and-derelict-land-hub?p_slug=blog

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/blog/the-ownerless-property-transfer-scheme-a-centuries-old-regime-creates-new-opportunities?p_slug=blog

This week our Chief Executive, Hamish Trench, will be speaking at the Scottish Contaminated Land Forum conference discussing progress made on tackling vacant and derelict land.

Hamish will look at recommendations made in 2020 by the Commission’s VDL Taskforce and actions taken, as well as what more can be done to accelerate progress.

His presentation will address what needs to happen to enable re-use of existing VDL and steps needed to prevent a new legacy of VDL based on changing town centres.

This is a topic the Commission are heavily focused on with a review conducted by Ryden to be published later this month.

📌 Statement from the Scottish Land Commission on Highlands Rewilding land sales.

https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/news/statement-on-highlands-rewilding?p_slug=news