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Pairc community buyout ballot underway                   4/2/14

A bitter court room battle has been suspended while islanders vote over community ownership of Pairc Estate in Lewis.

 

The 26,775 acre estate would have been Scotland’s first test case of a hostile land buyout under the controversial Land Reform Act.

 

Pairc was the only example of the forced crofting land sale legislation - under part Three of the Act - being used in anger since it was introduced by the former Labour administration in 2003. Elements of it were seriously flawed which hampered the Pairc bid and required corrective legislation.

 

Community body Pairc Trust has made a formal offer to purchase the land - plus renewable energy rights - for £500,000 from owner Barry Lomas.

 

The price tag is higher than what the tenants would have to pay if the Scottish Government would have won its legal defence of the land reform legislation.

 

But the bonus is the community would gain 6,000 more acres than involved in the hostile court case, plus take ownership much quicker.

 

This will speed up the launch of a development strategy to help regenerate the ailing economy, create jobs and stem depopulation.

 

In November, the community agreed, in principle, to seek an amicable arrangement with the landlord.

 

They also insisted on a postal ballot to give everyone a fair chance to vote rather than just those able to attend a public meeting.

 

A spokesman for Pairc Trust said negotiations have now resulted in a final deal being thrashed out and detailed documents over the terms will be made available for inspection at Ravenspoint and Gravir Post Office from this Friday.

 

He said directors of Pairc Trust will also be available to answer questions and discuss any aspect of the proposals at the Resource Centre, Kershader, on Friday between 3pm to 9pm.

 

The outcome of the vote should be known on the evening of Thursday 13th March.

 

Finance is in place to cover the purchase price as well as legal costs with contributions from the Scottish Land Fund and Western Isles Council. The funding package will also pay for two full-time development staff posts over the first two years following purchase.

Voting slips are due to be received on Tuesday and should be returned by Thursday 13th March. The count will be undertaken by Western Isles Council’s election team in Pairc School that evening.

 

The Pairc Trust will receive £230,000 from the Scottish Land Fund plus £76,500 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise on top of funding pledged by Western Isles Council.

 

Of the 60 people present at a public meeting in November, 56 voted in favour (with four abstentions) to draw up the necessary legal documentation to purchase the land and associated wind farm lease.

 

Much of the land has little value expect as rough pasture for livestock but the stakes were dramatically raised when Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) applied to build a £110 million wind farm, promising huge rental payments for the owner.

 

The legal rights to harvest the wind were controversially hived of into a separate corporate entity by the landlord.

 

In the middle of the legal fight SSE sold its interests to International Power which now plans a much smaller renewable energy scheme.

 

Acrimonious rows over the past decade may all be in the past when the ballot result is known in less than ten days.