A court ruling has prevented a farmer being removed from his Midlothian smallholding so landlords can sell the site to developers proposing a film studio.
Jim Telfer faced eviction from smallholdings at Damhead where Scottish Ministers controversially gave planning approval for a £250m film studio in December last year.
Now the Scottish Land Court has found that the landlord has no lawful grounds to resume Mr Telfer’s tenancy.
Scottish Ministers issued a decision on 21 December 2017 intimating that they were minded to consent to the development of a film studio at Damhead. Industry sources suggested that it could be built by the end of 2018.
The Scottish Land Court ruled on 1 October 2018 that the application by the landlord to resume the whole of Smallholdings No. 1 and 2 on Pentland Mains Farm “should be refused for want of a reasonable purpose in relation to the good of the estate”.
The Court observed that “this estate does not need a film studio” and that “resumption followed by a sale of the whole estate could not be for the good of the estate because no estate would remain in the hands of the landlord”.
Pentlands Studio Limited, the company behind the film studio plan, said it was "respectful, however disappointed, to learn of the Scottish Land Court's ruling".
The court's decision was welcomed by Scottish Green MSPs Alison Johnstone and Andy Wightman, who have campaigned in support of Mr Telfer.
They said: "Quite why the landlord, the developers and some voices within the Scottish film industry ignored the fact that a sitting tenant has legal rights that have now been upheld is for them to explain."
