New Rural Land Market Data Report 2025 shows Scotland’s rural land market continued to cooled in 2024:
🌲 Forestry prices down to £10,054/ha - a drop of 34% from 2023
🏘️ Only 6 large-scale estate sales - a 5 year low
🚜Farmland prices rose slightly to an average of £16,502/ha
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Thank you to everyone who took part in our ScotLand Futures survey. More than 1,200 people shared their views, and 96% told us Scotland still needs further action on land reform 👇
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A valuable opportunity for researchers to dig into what’s driving the shift from largescale to smaller community acquisitions and how we remove barriers to communities taking ownership of land at scale.
If you work on land reform, rural development or community wealth building, take a look 👇
📌 Scotland takes important step towards fairer use and ownership of land
Scottish Land Commission statement on the passing of the Land Reform Bill
Closing date approaching 📅
Applications for our Research Officer role close on Wednesday 21.
If you are passionate about research and policymaking and want to contribute to land reform in Scotland this is an exciting opportunity.
Full job description and details 👉 buff.ly/McYbcLg
📢 Job Opportunity at @scottishlandcom.bsky.social 📢
Probably the most exciting Research Job going in Scotland at the moment!
Please share with networks and anyone you know who might be interested - if you are interested, please also feel free to ask me about the role!
📢 Job Opportunity at @scottishlandcom.bsky.social 📢
Probably the most exciting Research Job going in Scotland at the moment!
Please share with networks and anyone you know who might be interested - if you are interested, please also feel free to ask me about the role!
Great to see @scottishlandcom.bsky.social land markets reporting setting the context for today’s Public Landowners Conference!
Delighted to welcome @caitlinhafferty.bsky.social to chat to @scottishlandcom.bsky.social colleagues this morning about her work and recent paper.
Thoroughly interesting discussion, and an opportunity to consider our approach to land governance. Further thoughts 👇
www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...
Great to see our @scottishlandcom.bsky.social Governance Guide published!
Full of inspiring and often untold stories from across Scotland and beyond that show how land can deliver for people and prosperity in innovative ways, this is also a call to action, and will be a regularly updated resource!
📢 New @clanscot.bsky.social Website Launched!
This is a new hub for researchers, policymakers & community landowners to share knowledge & collaborate, and features:
🔎 Free research library
🤝 Expert connections
📖 Open access resources
Visit the website 👉 https://clan.scot
More updates to the starter pack!
Amongst the new faces is @clanscot.bsky.social - about to celebrate a 3rd birthday in style - the leading network for academics (or indeed anyone!) with an interest in the latest developments in Scottish community land ownership research!
We welcome the Scottish Land Commission's calls for the new #LandReform Bill to require many more estates to create Land Management Plans.🗺️
We hope Ministers take the recommendation seriously. It'd encourage more land managers to proactively support access, inc to greenspace on people's doorsteps.⤵️
Really pleased to see our advice on Part 1 of the Land Reform Bill published this morning!
This has been in the works for a wee while and contains a wide mix of advice from technical tweaks, to significant simplifications, to bolder public sector leadership.
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the impactful work we’ve done this year that has helped shape Scotland’s land reform journey.
Swipe to explore some of the highlights 👀
Looking ahead, we remain focused on making more of Scotland's land—stay tuned!
A few more updates for the new year!
Now joined by my irrepressible SLC colleague @kgrantslc.bsky.social and newly minted Land Commissioner @calummacleod.bsky.social
The @scottishlandcom.bsky.social Rural Land Market Data Report is now out! 👇
Key point is forestry land sales significantly down - farmland and estates steady.
Reinforces earlier findings around challenges in the timber sector and a reality check on carbon speculation.
#LandReform #Maps
Excited to be working on this!
This pack is a super useful springboard onto bluesky thanks so much @jamesmackl.bsky.social
A few more interesting perspectives added to the pack!
Open letter to the Treasury written by Jeremy Moody on behalf of Scotland’s Tenant Farming Advisory Forum (TFAF). The letter concerns the impact of changes to APR and BPR on the inheritance of Scottish agricultural tenancies.
www.caav.org.uk/budget-octob...
Collie sits in the back of a Toyota pickup looking at grazing sheep
In the latest Tenant Farming blog Peter MacDougall explains why there is no better time than now to put a family tenancy in order 🚜
www.landcommission.gov.scot/news-events/...
Good to see @theifs.bsky.social commenting on the fairness of the new arrangements - my instinct is that it's the being caught totally unprepared and potentially being unlucky that's driving a lot of the anger.
Allowing a bit of time for succession planning to take place would be wise.
"If the government wished to give current farm owners the same opportunity to avoid inheritance tax as owners of other assets, it could, for example, make lifetime gifts of agricultural property made before a certain future date inheritance tax free, regardless of the timing of the death."
An always interesting bunch of perspectives here!!
Aerial view of North Berwick Suburbs. Credit Valentine Kulikov, Pexels
🗣 “Scotland has a unique opportunity to use CWB legislation for the benefit of our people and places...”
In our latest guest blog, Naomi Mason shares how natural capital projects can empower communities to co-create and benefit locally.
Read more on our website ⬇️
I’ve never understood why leasehold remains in England and Wales - Scotland abolished the remnants of feudal tenure ~20 years ago and hasn’t looked back…
Coincidentally, leasehold abolition was one of my top recommendations to @guyshrubsole.bsky.social in our discussion earlier this week!
Last week I shared reflections on IHT/APR changes and potential unintended consequences - one being increased use of tax planning and legal avoidance mechanisms
Interesting to see UKG Ministers in the news over the last day advocating farmers make use of such - an odd approach to revenue raising?
Can’t help noticing the same impetus driving people here is also what drives land reform
Dissatisfaction with the way power and control is centralised, unregulated, and exercised - leading to a decentralised, collaborative, community centric approach
Where land reform leads will tech follow…?
