…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
I am grateful to Lallands Peat Worrier for his comments on a draft of this blog. A dispute over a farm in East Lothian may be responsible for the second time in two months for the provisions of an Act
Continue readingLandownership in rural Scotland remains hugely concentrated in the hands of very few large landowners. Whilst the kinds of reforms that might change this appear to be on the back-burner as far as the Scottish government is concerned, there is
Continue readingPictured above is Rob Bain of Ardoch, Deeside, Aberdeenshire who died in July, 2010. Rob was the son of Jean Bain, the last native speaker of Deeside Gaelic who died in 1984. In an interview with Sheena Blackhall, Rob
Continue readingHere is some additional background material on my previous blog about the sale of the King’s Park in Stirling. 1. An early paper from Stirling Council outlining the proposal. (Will get this properly referenced as soon as I can) 2.
Continue readingIn relation to my previous post discussion the Stage 1 report on the Long Leases (Scotland) Bill, it is only right that I should also highlight the Stage 1 report on the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Bill published on 6
Continue readingUPDATE 25 APRIL 2012 In the Stage 1 debate on the Long Leases Bill, Stewart Stevenson, the Minister in charge of the Bill announced that the Scottish Government were looking at possibility of exempting Waverley Market on the basis that
Continue reading(This is a quick blog written at launch of Crown Estate report). The Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has published its report into the Crown Estate in Scotland. The report is brief, concise and to the point.
Continue readingOne of the first serious books I ever read (my 1982 John Donald hardback edition sits on the shelf beside me) was James Hunter’s The Making of the Crofting Community. It is a mark of Hunter’s brilliance that his
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Why on earth is an ancient Scottish Royal Park about to be flogged off for a million quid? King’s Park in Stirling dates back to the 12th century and is a landscape of inestimable historic and cultural importance. If you
Continue readingFor those who have been following the debate about the future administration of the Crown Estate in Scotland will be aware that the Scotland Bill contained two proposed reforms so inconsequential as to be meaningless. The first was that there
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