Land Reform (Scotland) Bill – Landholdings in Scope

Today, I have published an analysis of the landholdings in Scotland above 1000ha and 3000ha that are in scope in relation to the provisions in Part I of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced to Parliament by the SNP/Scottish Green Government in March 2024.

The analysis report can be downloaded here.

The analysis shows that there are 1054 landholdings of over 1000 hectares in extent that will be affected by the proposals. Of these,

• 842 are privately owned landholdings covering 3.5 million ha

• 150 are owned by public landowners such as Scottish Ministers and Scottish Natural Heritage covering 742,000 ha

• 62 are owned by not-for-profit organisations such as community bodies and environmental groups covering 375,000 ha.

The analysis highlights examples of how the rules governing inclusion are interpreted and provides examples of landowners who own many thousands of hectares but whose landholdings in whole or in part will not be covered by the provisions in the Bill.