Tenure & Ownership
Sleat backs forest buyout whilst Pairc wrangling continues
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- Friday, 16 April 2010 15:20 Tamsin Morris Hits: 415
Residents of Sleat have voted in favour of a community buyout of Tormore Forest, currently in Forestry Commission Scotland ownership. Meanwhile, on Lewis, the Pairc Trust are continuing with their struggle to buy crofting land.
The postal ballot at Sleat, which took place in March, attracted responses from around 70% of those eligible to vote. Of those responses, 90% were in favour of pursuing a community buyout. Forestry Commission Scotland plan to dispose of the forest through the National Forest Land Scheme and a valuation of £330,000 has been given by the District Valuer. The Sleat Community Trust now need to develop a business plan for sourcing funding to support the purchase and for developing the forest as a community resource. You can find further information on the forest purchase on the Sleat Community Trust website.
Elsewhere, on the Isle of Lewis, the Pairc Trust are continuing with their attempts to buy crofting land using Part 3 of the Land Reform Act (see previous article). They're awaiting a decision from Scottish Ministers on their buy-out plans, but also looking at their options in relation to both the proposed commercial windfarm and community energy projects on the estate. You can read their latest update on their website.
