In so many ways the challenges facing Scotland’s rural communities have never been greater - or broader - as everyone strives to secure success and sustainability in a rapidly-evolving world. Economically, environmentally and socially, landowners and managers play a critical part in unlocking the greener, stronger, more sustainable future which will benefit us all.
The importance of our rural estates - so often at the centre of community life and work - was underpinned by the findings of a recent report by Scottish Land and Estates. The Contribution of Rural Estates to Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy revealed the nation’s rural estates generate about £2.4 billion GVA, supporting around one in 10 rural jobs.
Many of the developments and innovations we are seeing to sustain and build that - while responding to the climate emergency, rising costs, subsidy changes and more - have community benefit at their core.
Yet how do you define a project’s community benefit? Well, that depends on your area’s needs.
National planning policies do not legally define community benefit. That means the onus is on landowners to set out what they believe it to be.
For some, it may be through job creation - perhaps via tourism, hospitality or retail. It could be new homes to tackle rural housing shortages, keeping communities vibrant. Perhaps it’s renewable energy, natural capital, environmental improvements or development of a new community facility. We can all doubtless think of places where the benefit could be any - or all - of the above. Ever more creative ways are being conceived to deliver the action needed.
Whatever you see as the benefit to your community, it’s becoming increasingly clear that collaboration is the key to change and success. We see landowners, developers, community development trusts, councils and rural businesses coming together for a variety of projects. Little benefit will be achieved working in isolation.
For landowners and estates, considerations for projects include diversification and succession planning. At the same time, they create opportunities to sustain communities by contributing to their economic and social fabric.
The practicalities can, however, be complex. They often involve a cast of stakeholders with differing priorities, resources and levels of expertise. There’s a need for experienced advisers to provide not just technical knowledge but the contacts, contextual understanding and perseverance to deliver deals, whether land sales, housing, energy or anything else.
From our experience in an array of projects across the country, there are key legal steps that landowners can take when considering diversification and delivering community benefit.
Firstly, ensure your land is registered on Scotland’s Land Register. This is the digital, map-based record of land ownership. It will ease the process of negotiating any land contract sale, helping to prevent delays.
Secondly, it is advisable to check title deeds in case there are adverse title conditions that would hamper or prevent any particular kind of development. Doing this at an early stage could ease negotiations and prevent extra cost.
Thirdly, landowners who are selling only part of their land should get good advice about what rights will need to be reserved in order to ensure the future marketability or use of their remaining land. If selling for housing, for example, this could include the ability to hook into new access roads and / or service apparatus being installed on the land (and taking into consideration appropriate obligations for maintenance, repair and renewal.) This is essential to preserve flexibility for yourself and future generations, including the option for further land transfers.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to community benefit. But with good advice, careful planning and collaboration landowners can help deliver so much while supporting their own diversification and succession planning. Everyone can win.
This article by Lewis Crofts, Associate in our Rural Services team featured in LandBusiness magazine published in March 2023.
