THE SNP-GREEN Scottish government’s latest land reform legislation began its journey through Parliament today.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill promises to make the country’s largest landowners accountable for the use of their land against national priorities such as tackling climate change — not only to ministers, but to local communities.

The legislation also proposes support for community ownership on sales of land over 1,000 hectares, or prohibition of sale without ministers being satisfied its continued existence is in the public interest.

The clause could mean the break-up of large shooting estates responsible for Scotland having the most concentrated pattern of private land ownership on the planet. 

Green MSP Ariane Burgess said: “This Bill is a huge step forward in Scotland’s land reform journey.

“It’s so important that this Bill includes powers to break up big estates that come up for sale into smaller plots.

“By diversifying how we use our land we can tackle the impacts of climate change and ensure we are restoring nature and biodiversity in Scotland.”

Some however believe the Bill doesn’t go far enough. Labour’s Mercedes Villalba’s Land Ownership Bill, already in train, proposes limiting sales to 500 hectares without a public interest test to end what she called the “hugely iniquitous and archaic land ownership arrangements that date back to medieval times.” 

Launching the Bill, SNP Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “We do not think it is right that ownership and control of much of Scotland’s land is still in the hands of relatively few people.

“We want Scotland to have a strong and dynamic relationship between its land and people. 

“We want to be a nation where rights and responsibilities in relation to land and its natural capital are fully recognised and fulfilled.”