THE SNP Government is facing a “litmus test” ahead of the 2026 elections as MSPs gather to debate its Land Reform Bill, a Green parliamentarian has said.
Speaking to The National ahead of Holyrood’s first stage debate on the land ownership legislation, which will take place on Wednesday afternoon, Mark Ruskell warned that the proposed laws “wouldn't touch” some of Scotland’s most high-profile land use cases.
For example, the 7300-acre (2954-hectare) Glenuaig estate, which sold for an undisclosed sum in December, would not have been affected by the Land Reform Bill, which has a 3000-hectare threshold before requiring owners to carry out community engagement and produce Land Management Plans (LMPs).
Taymouth Castle and the neighbouring Glenlyon estate – both of which are owned by US firms Discovery Land Company (DLC) and PLH (Peace Love and Happiness, owned by billionaire John Paul DeJoria) – would also not be covered by the SNP’s proposed bill.
The US owners are looking to develop it into an exclusive golf and holiday resort, like DLC runs elsewhere in the world. Property prices on DLC-owned land are well into the millions, and initiation fees of up to $300,000 are followed by annual fees of as much as $37,500.
Ruskell said: “I think there's a two-mile gap between the Taymouth Castle estate holding and then Glenlyon – but for all intents and purposes they're being managed as a single entity with a single vision and a single plan.
“Wherever you fall, wherever the threshold goes, there'll be ways to kind of get round it. I think the key thing is that you get Taymouth Castle, which is small but has a huge amount of assets that are really significant to the community.
“They're buying other assets which added up together are pretty much the economic life of that whole area.”
While ownership structures are complex, DLC and PLH own at least Taymouth Castle estate, the neighbouring Glenlyon estate, Moness Resort in Aberfeldy (which they aim to convert to staff accommodation), Kenmore Hotel, Kenmore post office and shop, Taymouth Trading, Brae Cottages, Am Fasgadh and Gatehouse, Paper Boat, Police House, and the Boathouse cottages, among other properties.
“It’s a bit of a litmus test for the SNP,” Ruskell said.
“This is the SNP's Land Reform Bill, one year out from the Holyrood election.
“It’s a litmus test for Scotland's national party about where it really sees the future of land and power imbalance and everything going forward at the moment.”
Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, on which Ruskell sits, last week concluded that the Land Reform Bill needs to see “significant changes … if the Scottish Government’s policy objectives for land reform are to be met”.
The committee said that 3000-hectares was “too high a threshold”, amid other concerns that it would not introduce “real benefit for communities and the natural environment, rather than more paperwork”.
The bill would also give ministers the power of “lotting” – to intervene and say large estates must be sold in smaller parcels – though there are concerns about how this would work in practice.
Ruskell, who represents Central Scotland at Holyrood, said that the threshold is the “key thing” – suggesting there should be a public interest test, rather than one based solely on size.
He said the bill has “to try and effectively bring the likes of Taymouth Castle and Glenlyon”.
“There are people on either side of this debate in the community, but I think everybody would acknowledge that nobody knows what these two estates together are going to look like in 10, 15 years' time,” he said.
“There's something there about landowners that have got a huge number of sites that are very significant to communities’ life, they need to be included.
“At the end of the day, people on the ground will be thinking about the Land Reform Bill and going, ‘well, does this actually change anything for us?’, because the reality on the ground is it just doesn't fit with the reality of what's happening in this part of Scotland at the moment.”
The Greens more widely are calling for the legislation to include “meaningful powers to break up the big estates and empower communities to buy and transform the land around them”.
Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess said she would be seeking changes that will ensure large estates are managed for the public’s benefit, including tackling the climate crisis.
She said: “It is over 20 years since Scotland introduced community right to buy laws, but one of the biggest barriers to community ownership is the complex process for communities to register their interest to buy land when it becomes available. This includes small parcels of land that could be used for self-build housing, community orchards or new community enterprises.
“That’s why it’s vital that this bill goes much further in delivering robust powers that will allow us to break up big estates that come up for sale and to manage them for the wider public benefit.”
“This Land Reform Bill will support communities by giving them greater involvement in decisions about the land on which they live and work. It will empower them with more opportunities to own land.
“For the first time, it will also allow ministers to consider how the sale of large landholdings impacts communities, and take steps to intervene when necessary. And it brings forward essential reforms to deliver equality of opportunity to Scotland’s small landholders and tenant farmers – recognising their contribution to Scottish agriculture.
“I welcome that the majority of the Net Zero Energy Transition Committee have recommended to Parliament that it support the general principles of this bill. In my response to their report, I have set out proposed amendments to further strengthen and simplify the proposals in the bill – ensuring landowners deliver on their obligations as well as penalties for those who breach their obligations are a real deterrent.
“I will continue to work with all parties as the bill progresses through Parliament.”
