Author: Andy Wightman

Land Matters is the blog and website of Andy Wightman. Andy is a respected writer and campaigner on land rights, democracy and the economy.

He has published two blogs in relation to the Scottish Government’s recently launched consultation – Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation

First blog takes the form of an overview and introduction to the consultation

Second blog explores the aspects of the consultation which are about scale and concentration of landownership

Author: Scottish Housing News

The Highland Council has launched a new scheme which will buy up properties in the area to prevent second-home owners letting out their homes on Airbnb.

The pilot scheme encourages property owners to sell directly to the local authority in a bid to ease housing pressures in the highlands, as soaring house prices and a rise in short-term lets freezes local people out of the market.

While the maximum purchase price is usually capped at £180,000, a higher figure is considered in some cases and the council has waived the requirement in Scotland for sellers to pay for a home report.

Sellers also do not have to pay estate agent fees, with their homes valued instead by the council or an outside professional.

Allan Maguire, head of development and regeneration at Highland Council, said the scheme was started after the local authority was approached by several homeowners who had inherited a property from their parents and wanted to keep it in the community.

While sellers may be able to get a better price selling their homes on the open market, Mr Maguire added that the council had adopted a “hearts and minds approach” and sellers would still get market value.

The initative has attracted interest from 130 sellers across the Highlands since the start of this year, with 40 properties already purchased by the council, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Maguire said: “People will sometimes say to us that their parents lived in the area all their lives and that they don’t want to sell it on the open market and then it be used for an Airbnb.

“Rather than you selling the property and it then be used as a holiday home, we will pay market value for it but we will also not require a home report or for you to pay estate agents fees.”

He added that the council hoped to “buy up more properties as word gets out” as it was an “extremely challenging” time for the delivery of more affordable housing. He said inflationary construction costs and a shortage of contractors in the Highlands to tender for housing projects were exacerbating the situation.

Author: Improvement Service

Bus routes in rural areas of Scotland have faced consistent cuts in recent years, as operators focus on revenue-generating routes in towns and cities, leaving many people without access to a vehicle of their own stranded.

This is the problem that has weighed on the mind of Bruce Morrison, Secretary of Ferintosh Community Council, for several years – and which finally seems to have found a solution in the shape of the Ferintosh Community Bus.

Bruce has been the driving force behind the creation of The Ferintosh Community Bus, which was officially launched in February 2022, after an eight-month pilot scheme. The project is a partnership between Ferintosh Community Council (supported by the Culbokie Community Trust), HITRANS, Stagecoach, The Highland Council, CSI Ross-shire and Bannermans Transport, and has already secured funding until 2026.

Also known as the Wee Bus, the service is provided by a seven-seater electric vehicle, available as an on-demand service to those living or visiting the Ferintosh Community Council area. Residents simply need to call The Wee Bus service and book their journey, and the service will turn up to their door and take them where they need to go within the Black Isle, including an important connection with scheduled Stagecoach services which pass through the area, including the routes which run up and down the A9 and call at the nearby Tore service station.

As well as ticking an environmental box – one trip on the Ferintosh Community Bus could be replacing six separate car journeys – the project is also kind on the pockets of Ferintosh residents. Travellers are only asked to pay what they can, with a £2 flat fee suggested, but for those who are connecting with Stagecoach services at Tore the price of the Wee Bus is included in their ticket, including all concessionary fares. The Wee Bus is even wheelchair accessible and is available seven days a week. Paid drivers run the service during the day, with a fleet of volunteer drivers getting behind the wheel on evenings and weekends.

The Wee Bus is already making a difference to the lives of people living in the Ferintosh area, allowing them easier access to regular bus services and transport within the local community. But it has been a long journey to get to this point.

Bruce Morrison identified that there was a need for better transport links in the Ferintosh area and came up with the idea of a Community Bus Link, which gave people lifts from their homes to nearby bus stops. However, there were problems with this model.

“Often the bus stops that we were taking people to were unsuitable for long waits, with passengers expected to wait by the side of busy roads at stops which didn’t even have a shelter. While the principle was sound, the initiative itself failed and we realised that we needed to find another way of tackling the transport deprivation in our area.”

“Community support was an essential part of getting Stagecoach and HITRANS on board, and early consultations by Ferintosh Community Council showed that there was a real demand for improved public transport in the area. Now that the service is up and running, the community council’s role is more about promoting The Wee Bus to the local community to ensure that it is well-used, and to make sure we are reaching those who would benefit most from access to the service.”

The bus is financed by Highland Council, who bought the vehicle and pay for its running costs. But the Ferintosh Community Bus is actually a money saver for the council, as they would previously have paid Stagecoach a subsidy to provide under-used services in the area. It is a model that could easily be replicated in other rural areas, where there is a need for a more demand-led public transport system.

Bruce added:

“Our launch event in February was attended by Kate Forbes MSP, and generated quite a lot of press and social media coverage. Within a few days, I had received communications from people across Scotland who wanted to find out how we got the Ferintosh Community Bus on the road.

“There is clearly a need for reliable public transport options in rural communities. The Wee Bus model could be the answer for communities who are experiencing similar levels of transport deprivation.”

Find out more about the Ferintosh Community Bus on the Ferintosh Community Council website. The bus service even has its own Facebook page to help promote the scheme and to keep local residents up to date.v

Author: A&DS

The first year of our Climate Action Towns work has taught us a lot, including why it is often best to start a climate conversation by not talking about climate. Here is what we have learned so far.

The people and organisations we have connected with through the first year of our Climate Action Towns work across Scotland are eager to understand what the climate emergency means for them and their towns. But many are unsure what action to take, and where to start.

A perceived lack of visible climate change impacts in the towns has – understandably – limited people’s understanding of how serious the climate crisis is. The result is that physical adaptation and behaviour change are not happening at the scale and pace needed.

Below are five important lessons we have learned from the first year of the project, about how to take climate action with greater urgency and efficiency.

1. Start a climate conversation by not talking about climate

Begin climate conversations by asking ‘non-climate’ questions about changes in the local area. This approach allows local people to be place ‘experts’, and leads to better, more insightful discussions about local climate impacts than opening with the ‘climate’ word.

In Blackburn, incredibly rich and detailed observations about the changing local climate were initiated by unanticipated and spontaneous conversations. A passing joke about drowning worms led to a thoughtful discussion about collapsing eco-systems, the vulnerability of local, national and international food chains and the impacts of localised surface water flooding.

2. Maps, maps, maps

Making maps helps us all to shift theoretical climate issues into a tangible, meaningful resource. Throughout our work, maps have proved to be an incredibly valuable tool for starting a climate discussion with people of all ages, demographics and levels of climate literacy.

Our Carbon Conscious Places mapping exercise in Alness and Invergordon harvested a wealth of input from across both towns, using questions that were focussed enough to draw out relevant climate observations.

3. More tools are needed to help people see how climate change will actually affect their town

A lack of place-specific climate risk data is making it challenging for people to understand how climate change will affect their town. Whilst we have been able to use tools like SEPA’s flood risk mapping to clearly illustrate the risk posed by rising sea levels and surface water flooding, illustrating other risks like wildfires, crop failures or increasing vectors of disease is much more challenging because there is very limited place-scale data.

For communities to be able to develop localised adaptation and mitigation plans, they first need to have a clear picture of what climate risks they are actually facing in their area. At present the focus is too much at a national, rather than a local level. A suite of tools that clearly illustrate relevant local climate risks is urgently needed to help inform decision making.

4. A library of precedents showing successful climate action is needed to show people what is possible

Examples and case studies are a valuable tool for providing inspiring examples of how climate action can be undertaken at a local level. They can increase understanding of how the Place Principle and climate action and justice intersect. Learning from others that have already dismantled barriers and demonstrated success can help to inspire change in other places.

A catalogue of climate action precedents really helps to guide and inspire people towards action they can take in their own towns.

5. It is better to build on existing place-based work than start from scratch

There is value in taking time to understand local context and to identify where opportunities, gaps and overlaps exist. Tailoring a project’s scope to meet local needs, to deliver on the Place Principle and to add value to existing place-based work has used resources efficiently and increased buy-in to the Climate Action Towns work.

Which towns are involved in the Climate Actions Towns projects?

The five learnings above are a summary from our reflections on year one of the climate action towns project. The towns involved in the Climate Action Towns project are:

• Highlands – Invergordon and Alness

• West Lothian – Blackburn

• Argyll & Bute – Campbeltown

• North Ayrshire – Stevenston

• North Lanarkshire – Holytown

• Dumfries & Galloway – Annan

Author: BBC

A new toy library in Glasgow hopes to help families cope with the cost of living crisis while encouraging people to re-use rather than throw away old playthings.

The project in Govan has about 700 games and toys which can be rented by children ranging from toddlers through to pre-teens.

The Toy Library has an £8 monthly subscription, but also offers free membership to some lower-income families who may be struggling due to the effects of the pandemic and the increased cost of living.

The scheme was set up by social enterprise Make Do and Grow.

Managing director Kaytie Lillie hopes the library will “connect families” while making people aware that “re-used doesn’t mean second best” when it comes to toys.

Govan includes some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Scotland, and Kaytie said families were struggling even more than before due to the cost of living crisis.

She said she wants to make sure that parents don’t have “the horrific choice of having something for their child or having food on the table”.

She is keen to promote good-quality toys for children who may not have access to them.

Kaytie believes the toy library can help families save space and reduce their carbon footprint, while also saving money.

The Toy Library was developed over the past year, with the help of the community and Together For Childhood, where families can access food provision as well as toys.

Many of the toys came from donations, with families giving feedback to the library about the type of toys they were looking for.

The library operates on an online booking system, which aims to make it easy and accessible for children to select which toys they would like.

Children are allowed to take home up to four toys each month. Kaytie believes this will help struggling families save money and also benefit the children’s development.

Many of the volunteers at The Toy Library are parents and members of the local community.

Gosia Dabrowska, a local mum, had been a regular Make Do and Grow user and is now the co-ordinator at the library.

She said she wanted to support families who were struggling.

“I knew they were going to have really good quality toys that would actually have an impact on these children that may last a lifetime, because the children here don’t have the access to very good quality resources,” she said.

“The parents, as hard as they may try, they may not be able to deliver.

“That’s where we make a real impact, that’s where we create an environment where the children can access really good quality toys.”

Gosia wants to create a safe space for both children and parents, adding: “I am here for them (the parents) as much as I am here for their children.”

Kieran and Christine McMahon feel the library will help families with the cost of living

The organisation hopes the renting system will give the children access to toys they may never have had before.

Local families have been signing up to the scheme since its launch earlier this month.

Kieran and Christine McMahon have taken out a membership for their daughter after hearing about the library through a friend.

“It’s the concept I like… getting kids to value the toys, teach them things. I think it’s really good. The cost of living comes into it as well,” says Kieran.

Christine added: “We’re paying £8 a month and you’re getting four toys, it’s insane.

“They’re learning about recycling and they’re not going to think they can just go to the shop and just buy it. You’re teaching them.”

Author: Kirsten Hogg, SCVO

At the Gathering a few weeks ago, the first minister talked about needing a “third sector first” approach. 

She used this same phrase during our pre-election hustings last year, and at that time I scribbled it down excitedly, but a year on, with key opportunities to make changes to better support the sector missed, this sounds more like a soundbite than a commitment. 

And to be honest, could it ever be more than that? Assuming that it doesn’t mean putting the third sector ahead of other sectors in some sort of societal pecking order, what would we be first in line for?  

We could be first in line to provide services commissioned by the public sector, as (kind of) suggested by the STUC in relation to care services. In some cases that could create positive opportunities for the sector, but knowing that the recent Scottish Government Resource Spending Review cites procurement as a way to bring about cost savings, with very little mention of the equally important function of using purchasing power to buy in quality, I might have some reservations about this being our goal. 

In fact, I don’t think we want to be ‘first’ at all. What we saw working so well during the pandemic was when we were equal. When the expertise and contacts and money that we brought to the table were recognised as just as valuable as the resources of our public (and private) sector partners and we stopped worrying about any pecking order and just did what needed to be done to support communities. 

Audit Scotland has highlighted this in several reports now, and recommended to public sector partners that they maintain (or perhaps revive) that approach as we deal with the equally important crises facing our communities now, but sadly this seems harder to achieve. 

One of the challenges in bringing about this parity of esteem is, I think, that stakeholders still see the sector as an add on – a nice to have. Despite all of the warm words about the importance of the sector, this also came across from the first minister.

When challenged on whether multi-year funding could be achieved for the sector given the relatively small amounts of money that flow from the Scottish Government to voluntary organisations, she talked about the low level of “discretionary spend” that there is within the Scottish Budget once things like health and education are accounted for; this is true, of course, but misses the point that some parts of the sector are making enormous contributions to health, education and other areas where society expects spending to be prioritised – we’re not a discretionary add on. 

The first minister said repeatedly that she’s open to conversations about how we do things differently. In relation to the sector she said there was a need to “rethink” and focus on how Scottish Government supports the sector. While I’d very much welcome the latter, I respectfully disagree that any rethinking is required. 

From Christie onwards we have report after report that tells us what needs to be done to ensure that voluntary organisations have the stability and certainty that they need to be able to play the key role that they do: longer term investment; support for core costs; and an equal seat at the table. 

What is required is a movement beyond the warm words to action. 

Kirsten Hogg is SCVO’s head of policy, research and campaigns.

Author: Compass

The Basic Income Conversation is an initiative, powered by Compass, to promote the idea of a universal basic income in the UK. The report can be accessed here.

This is the report summary:

“This report examines the distributive impacts of three UBI schemes which raise the income floor to different heights and are broadly designed to provide a potential pathway to attainment of the Minimum Income Standard, MIS. The first is a starter scheme to provide an entry payment; the second an intermediate scheme and the third a full MIS payment to which increases in less generous schemes can be aimed over time. We use microsimulation of data from the Family Resources Survey to outline the static distributive impacts and costs of the schemes. 

Our key finding is that a modest, fiscally neutral, scheme has the capacity to cut child poverty to an historic low, below the low point achieved in the 1970s, thus achieve more than the anti-poverty interventions of the New Labour Governments from 2000. Even a modest scheme would significantly improve the living standards and life chances of millions of people and, despite the claims made by some critics of UBI, would be both feasible and affordable. This helps to answer the central practical criticism of introducing a basic income, that the payment levels are either too small to make much difference or too generous to be affordable.”  

Author: The Scottish Government

Scotland has a proud history of land reform going back to the early days of devolution. We are committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in this parliamentary session. Over the summer, we are undertaking a wide-ranging consultation on our proposals for the measures it should contain.

The Bill will be ambitious. It will address long-standing concerns about the highly concentrated pattern of land ownership in rural areas of Scotland.  At the same time, we want to ensure that our land is owned, managed, and used in ways that rise to the challenges of today: net zero, nature restoration, and a just transition.

To bring about a just transition we need to have a framework of law and policy that ensures communities can make the most of these opportunities. This means that not only must we address questions of who owns land, who uses it, and how it is managed, we must also consider the issue of who is benefitting from land, and from investment in it.

We are very fortunate to have great potential in Scotland’s natural world to sequester carbon and to support biodiversity, for example through woodland creation, peatland restoration, energy generation, blue carbon and many other initiatives. These initiatives will help us reach net zero but they also represent a real opportunity for our rural communities, for investment and for good green jobs and industries of the future.

Land is a vital resource that underpins the wealth, and the well-being, of the nation as a whole. We’ve come a long way on the ‘land question’ – but the journey continues.

You can hear from the Minister for Environment and Land Reform about whats in the consultation and why it is needed in this short video.

Read the consultation paper

A Gaelic translation of the consultation will be supplied here in due course.

As well as publishing this consultation paper, we have organised a series of public meetings where the Minister for Environment and Land Reform, along with government officials, will present the proposals for the Bill. All are welcome to come along to ask questions, raise issues, and contribute to the discussion. Please click on the link below for more details and to book your place.

Author: Circular Communities Scotland

Circular Economy

In a circular economy we keep products in high value economic use for as long as possible. If someone is finished with a product it is reused by someone else. If a product is broken it is repaired. If a product cannot be reused, then its materials which are also valuable resources are recycled.

Author: Community Land Scotland

 In Our Hands:Community Ownership in the South of Scotland.”

The past five years have seen the South of Scotland become one of the fastest growing areas for community landownership. Back in 2016, Community Land Scotland held its first events in the South of Scotland. Turnout was high – the room was so packed at an event we held in Newton Stewart that people struggled to make their way past other attendees to get to the tea and coffee station during the break. 

The main subjects that everyone wanted to talk about were depopulation and the decline of the area’s market towns. Coincidentally, both of Community Land Scotland’s two staff at the time hailed from the South of Scotland and were really keen to see communities in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway experience the same benefits that community landownership had delivered in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 

Since 2016, the South of Scotland has been a priority area for Community Land Scotland and in 2017, two Directors from the South of Scotland joined our Board. No one could have imagined the growth in community ownership that was to come – that the South would lead the way on community led regeneration of town centres or that one of the largest landowners in Scotland, Buccleuch Estates would take a proactive approach to selling land to communities. 

We are starting to see some really positive outcomes from these community acquisitions and there is much more to come. Between 2018 and 2020 alone, community owned assets in the South grew by 25%. 

At Community Land Scotland, we can see the transformational change created by community landowners, from reversing depopulation to building community confidence and resilience. However, this all requires support from agencies and local authorities working in partnership with local people to make better places. 

Communities have ambition, tenacity and skills, but they can’t make the changes the South of Scotland needs to see, on their own. The rapid growth of community landownership and the impact that it is already having on communities in the South of Scotland is a cause for celebration, so we are delighted to publish this report “ In Our Hands:Community Ownership in the South of Scotland.”