List of community buyouts in Scotland

This list contains the majority of land under community ownership in Scotland. It includes areas purchased in community buyouts, as well as land gifted or transferred for a nominal fee.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced rights for communities to purchase land in their area. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 extended the Community Right to Buy to communities of any size, including those in urban areas. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 allows ministers to compel landowners to sell if they decide that the sale will further sustainable development in the area. Funding for buying land has been provided by the Scottish Government through the Scottish Land Fund.

Property Date Type Owner Purchase price Area OS grid reference Notes
hectares acres
Glendale Estate, Skye 1908 Estate Glendale Trust 9,300 23,000 NG1749 Purchased by the government, then sold to the crofters[1]
Stornoway Estate, Lewis 1923 Estate Stornoway Trust £0 28,000 69,200 NB4232 Gifted by Lord Leverhulme
Macdonald Estate, Skye Apr 1971 Estate 19,452 Clan Donald Lands Trust 7,871 19,400 NG 6206 The Trust was founded by Clan Donald community members local and worldwide to buyout part of the old Macdonald Estate and preserve the land for future generations of our community.
North Assynt Estate Feb 1993 Estate Assynt Crofters' Trust £300,000 9,000 22,200 NC1032 Previously known as North Lochinver Estate[2]
Eigg Jun 1997 Island Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust £1,500,000 3,000 7,400 NM4786 [3]
Abriachan Forest Mar 1998 Forest Abriachan Forest Trust £152,000 534 1,300 NH5434 Purchased from Forest Enterprise[4]
Knoydart Estate Mar 1999 Estate Knoydart Foundation £750,000 7,000 17,300 NG7703 [5]
Isle Martin, Loch Broom May 1999 Island Isle Martin Trust £0 150 400 NH0999 Gifted by the RSPB[6]
Little Assynt Estate Nov 2000 Estate Culag Community Woodland Trust £244,000 1,200 3,000 NC1526 [7]
Gigha Mar 2002 Island Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust £4,000,000 1,300 3,200 NR6449 [8]
Dùn Coillich, Perthshire May 2002 Hill Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust 420 1,000 NN7653 [9]
North Harris Mar 2003 Estate North Harris Trust £2,200,000 22,500 55,600 NB1010 Increased to 25,000 ha (62,000 acres) with purchase of Loch Seaforth estate in 2006[10]
Aline Community Woodland, Lewis May 2005 Forest Erisort Trust 633 1,600 NB2114
Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates, Assynt Jun 2005 Estate Assynt Foundation £2,900,000 18,000 44,500 NC1718 [11]
South Uist Estate - Benbecula, Eriskay and South Uist Nov 2006 Estate Stòras Uibhist £4,500,000 38,000 93,900 NF7830 [12]
Langamull and West Ardhu Woodlands, Isle Of Mull Dec 2006 Forest North West Mull Community Woodland Company Ltd £343,000 700 1,700 NM3952 & NM4250 Purchased from Forestry Commission Scotland under the National Forest Land Scheme[13]
Galson Estate, Lewis Jan 2007 Estate Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (Galson Estate Trust) £1,200,000 22,600 55,800 NB4458 [14]
Cultybraggan Camp, Comrie Sep 2007 Former prisoner of war camp Comrie Development Trust £350,000 36 100 NN7619 [15]
Kinloch village, Rùm Feb 2009 Village Isle of Rum Community Trust £0 100 200 NM4099 Transferred from Scottish Natural Heritage[16]
Rhubodach Forest, Bute Jul 2010 Forest Bute Community Land Company £250,000 161 400 NS0273 Larger area of forest bought for £1.475m, then part of it immediately sold for £1.25m[17]
RAF Machrihanish May 2012 Former air base Machrihanish Airbase Community Company £1 409 1,000 NR6622 [18]
Evanton Wood Aug 2012 Forest Evanton Wood Community Company £300,000 65 200 NH5966 [19]
Mull of Galloway Jul 2013 Heathland Mull of Galloway Trust £350,000 12 0 NX1530 Sold by the Northern Lighthouse Board[20]
Bridgend Farmhouse, Edinburgh Nov 2016 Former farm and steading Bridgend Inspiring Growth £1 0.41 0 NT280710 Sold by the City of Edinburgh Council[21]
Portobello Old Parish Church, Edinburgh Sep 2017 Former Church Action Porty £600,000 0.18 0 NT280710 First urban community right to buy in Edinburgh under the LR(S)A 2003 (as amended). Property sold by the Church of Scotland[22]
Ulva 21 June 2018 Island North West Mull Community Woodland Company £4,400,000+ 2,000 4,900 NM410396 Sold by Jamie Howard after a grant of £4.4 million from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Land Fund[23]
Bonnymuir Green, Aberdeen Sep 2018 Greenspace and building Bonnymuir Green Community Trust £120,000 0.5 NJ922067 Former bowling green[24]

References

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  1. ^ Macpherson, George W. "Glendale Estate An [sic] Unique Early Experiment in Crofting Ownership". Social Land Ownership. Caledonia Centre for Social Development. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Assynt community considers buy-out". BBC News. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. ^ Lloyd, Mike (12 June 2002). "Eigg marks five years of independence". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. ^ Matheson, Christine. "Case Study Four: Abriachan Forest Trust". Social Land Ownership. Caledonia Centre for Social Development. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Residents' buy-out victory". BBC News. 2 March 1999. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  6. ^ Osborne, Roy. "The Isle Martin Trust - A community-based charitable trust". Social Land Ownership. Caledonia Centre for Social Development. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Locals buy estate". The Herald. 30 October 2000. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Island officially changes hands". BBC News. 15 March 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Highland Perthshire Communities land purchase (Dùn Coillich)". Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust. 10 May 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Estate handover complete". BBC News. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Assynt group buys estates in deal". BBC News. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Land buyout reality for islanders". BBC News. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Woodland bought by Mull community". BBC News. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Islanders in huge estate buy-out". BBC News. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  15. ^ "New history of Cultybraggan POW camp produced". STV News. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Islanders vote to become kings of their own castles". The Scotsman. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Islanders complete Bute forest buyout". BBC News. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  18. ^ "Sale of former RAF airbase at Machrihanish confirmed". BBC News. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Community efforts pay off with woodland deal". Ross-shire Journal. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Mull of Galloway community land purchase deal complete". BBC News. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  21. ^ City of Edinburgh Council. "Finance and Resources Committee". www.edinburgh.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  22. ^ City of Edinburgh Council. "Finance and Resources Committee". www.edinburgh.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Deal reached on community buyout of Ulva Estate". BBC News. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Case Study: Bonnymuir Green Community Trust" (PDF). Community Land Scotland. Retrieved 19 November 2023.