THE Scottish Government has been urged to prevent the super wealthy from "hoarding" Scotland’s land.
Scottish Greens MSP Ariane Burgess has moved an amendment to the upcoming Land Reform Bill, which would allow ministers to refuse a land sale if the buyer already owns 500 hectares of land in Scotland.
Andy Wightman, a land reform campaigner, previously calculated that half of all privately owned rural land in Scotland (equivalent to 3.2m hectares) is held by just 433 people and companies, with only 2.76% held by community groups.
Burgess said that this amendment would make radical changes to land reform law and remove some of the hurdles that prevent greater numbers of ordinary Scots from owning plots of land – saying that it could then lead to new sites for businesses, community enterprises, housing and outdoor recreation spaces.
“Land is power, and far too much of it is in the hands of a very small number of extremely rich people. We need to turn that around, with curbs on how much can be held by any one person and what they use it for,” she (above) told The National.
“What chance do communities have of being able to shape the world around them when they can be outbid by a wealthy and remote landowner who is only looking to exploit it for profit?
“Scotland has some of the world’s most iconic hills, rivers, nature and beautiful coastlines. These should benefit all of us rather than being bought and sold by the super rich as a commodity.
“I hope that the government backs my proposals and that we can curb the power of the land hoarders and start to put Scotland’s land in Scotland’s hands.
“It is only with bold action that we can finally undo some of the damage that has been done and start to tip the balance and the power away from the super wealthy and towards ordinary people and communities.”
