New laws which came into place at the weekend could ultimately kill off crofting warns a former government minister.
Brian Wilson who was a Labour MP for 18 years and a pre-
Mr Wilson maintains making crofting just like buying and selling any other small landholding gives hostile politicians and civil servants the excuse to cease any real regulation of the sector and “wind up this irksome system which costs them time and money.“
He stressed: “The new Crofting Act which came into force this weekend will, in all probability, deliver the final death blow.”
He said the seeds were laid in 1976 when the Crofters Commission “double flipped
to accommodate political convenience” and introduced tenants right-
New rules which “remove all barriers to owner-
Everything depends on how well the regulations are enforced says Mr Wilson who suspects there is no genuine desire in Edinburgh to protect crofting.
He said: “The Crofters Commission, as well as the legislators, have a lot to answer
for. There is only one way to redeem themselves -
Duties placed on tenants and owner-
A transformed body with new regulatory powers to be called the Crofting Commission will be set up in April.
For the first time, crofts can be bequeathed to more than one person. The old practice previously forced unlucky family members to leave.
Welcoming the “modernisation” of a failing system, Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson said the new “measures that will deliver growth for our crofting sector and build stronger communities.”
“Through having land held in crofting tenure and through making crofts available to people who are willing to make a permanent contribution to these communities by living there and working the land, crofting can once again be a model for sustainable rural development.
"The Scottish Government is presently consulting on Crofting Commission elections. The new Commission will be democratically accountable and will reflect and respond to concerns of crofters.”
New rules will kill crofting says former government minister 3/10/11