MORE than 100 people took part in a demonstration calling for stronger land reform on Sunday, warning that farmers are being “completely priced out of the land market”.
The crowd responded to a call to protest from the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA), who held a demonstration outside Taymouth Castle estate in Highland Perthshire.
The estate is owned by the US firm Discovery Land Company (DLC), who create members-only “worlds” aimed at the mega rich. Membership prices at other DLC compounds run as high as $300,000 per year, with properties in the well into the multi-million-dollar bracket.
The demonstration was held outside Taymouth Castle gates to highlight the impact of the concentration of ownership of Scottish land in a few hands, campaigners said.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell was among those taking part in the rally, saying on social media afterwards: “Important to join the @LandworkersUK protest at #TaymouthCastle today.
“Scottish Government must improve its Land Reform Bill.
“Too many gated resorts for the rich in Scotland that don’t serve the public interest.”
Important to join the @LandworkersUK protest at #TaymouthCastle today. Scottish Government must improve it’s Land Reform Bill. Too many gated resorts for the rich in Scotland that don’t serve the public interest. pic.twitter.com/8vhSuFbiye
— Mark Ruskell (@markruskell) July 28, 2024
Tara Wight, who as Scotland policy and campaigns coordinator at the LWA organised the rally, said: "We're hoping that the success of yesterday's rally will help to cultivate a broader grassroots movement for land justice in Scotland which will put land back in the hands of those who work and live on it.
“The outrageous concentration of land ownership in Scotland is a huge barrier for farmers and rural communities alike, who are currently bearing the brunt of limited access to land and skyrocketing land prices.
“Farmers and growers – our members included – are being completely priced out of the land market and are struggling to set up the kind of localised and ecological food systems we so desperately need in Scotland.
“That's why we're calling on the Scottish Government to implement an ambitious land reform programme which will prevent further exploitation of our landscapes and farmland by corporations such as the DLC, ensure that all land in Scotland is used in the public interest, and reduce concentration of ownership through redistribution of land to workers and communities."
The LWA said that Scotland has the most concentrated land ownership in Europe, with “just a handful of extremely wealthy individuals and corporations owning more than half of the country”.
They are calling for the Scottish Government's Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was lodged at Holyrood in March, to bring in measures to help communities and entrant farmers take ownership over land.
