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Lairds' power set to be reduced |
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A BILL undermining the power of landowners is now before the Scottish Parliament.
If passed crofters would receive the right to buy their land at independently assessed market prices, and rural communities of more than 20 people would have the right of first refusal when their land is put up for sale.
Ramblers would have extended rights to roam Scotland, where ownership is more concentrated than anywhere else in the world, with more than half of all private rural land owned by 343 individuals or bodies.
Land reform campaigner Andy Wightman declared that “the biggest impact the Bill has is that it legitimises the debate about property rights.
Robert Balfour, spokesman for the Scottish Landowners attacked the Bill declaring: “This Bill imposes huge penalties on landowners. This is not the familiar right to buy like people buying their council house and Ministers should be honest enough to call it nationalisation.
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