Scottish farmers have raised concerns that the Crown Estate should be retained as one entity as part of the devolution process.
NFU Scotland’s Crown Estate Tenants Working Group, which was brought together by NFU Scotland to provide the agricultural tenants with a strong voice in discussions, is comprised of two tenants from each of the four rural estates - Glenlivet, Fochabers, Applegirth, and Whitehills.
There are 117 secure 1991 Act tenancies on the estate in total, a significant portion of the secure tenanted sector in Scotland.
In response to the Crown Estate consultation, the tenants agreed that they do not want to see parts of the estate sold off under proposed ‘rebalancing’ of the asset.
In addition to this, they wish to see a centrally managed main board, underpinned by advisory sub groups, and would like an agricultural sub group to allow the tenants to be involved in management discussions and decisions.
No appetite for change
President of NFU Scotland, Andrew McCornick commented: “Our tenants have told us they are happy with how things are at the moment, and do not have an appetite for substantial change.
“They feel strongly that the estate functions well due to the size and complexity of the assets contained within the portfolio, and see this as a real opportunity to make the Crown Estate a showcase for rural Scotland.
“The tenanted farms, which have a value of £98 million, comprise the largest portion of the total estate asset. These farms play a vital role in underpinning the rest of the portfolio, and provide much wider socioeconomic benefits to many rural communities, and many of the farming families that live on these estates have done so for generations.
“NFU Scotland is very conscious of the recent figures which have shown a dramatic decrease in let land since the passing of the Land Reform Act in 2016. Crown Estate has an important role to play in this going forward. As it is unable to trade it cannot farm in hand, which means that letting is its best option for land it owns.
“We have written to Cabinet Secretaries Roseanna Cunningham and Fergus Ewing, and I hope they will be able to meet with the tenants in due course to discuss their concerns and aspirations in more detail.”
