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Land management - a mix of stewardship.

The Assynt Community buyout

Paper presented at the SCA annual conference

"Who should run the countryside? Rural Scotland 2006"

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh 25th April 2006

Alastair Macaskill

Chairman, The Assynt Foundation

Filed 18 May 06
©www.land-care.org.uk

Mr Chairman, ladies & gentlemen, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today.

The theme of your conference is “Who Should Run the Countryside” and in typical fashion, I will not directly answer the question, although I hope what I have to say will at least provide you with some food for thought. Each one of us comes here today carrying the baggage of preconceived ideas and our prejudices, you heard some of them, and if we can succeed in removing some then the conference has not been in vain.

I am reminded of an occasion many years ago, the scene is set in Eden Court at Inverness. The conference had been arranged to discuss the proposed formation of Community Councils. I was present at it wearing my “Police Community Involvement” hat. There were three speakers, two of whom were academics and the third was my good friend, the late Alastair Brackloch. I met Alastair in the front foyer of Eden Court, and when he saw that his audience could be counted in hundreds instead of tens, to say he was apprehensive is somewhat of an understatement. I did the only honourable thing and retired to the bar with him and, during the brief lull as the barman filled and refilled our glasses, we discussed matters.

The first speaker produced a well-reasoned argument that Community Councils should be an extension of local government, while the second speaker saw them as a pressure group. Lastly Alastair spoke, and he said, “In Lochinver they could have a meeting of Assynt Community Council, Assynt Angling Club, Assynt Games Committee and he listed several others: the only difference being that occasionally we would need to change the chairman.

Alastair Macaskill
Chairman, The Assynt Foundation
Photo©Kimpton Graphics

In that respect, nothing has changed in Assynt as each of our Directors are members of other organisations. I view this as one of our strengths, as it keeps the wider community abreast of developments. In my youth, Assynt Estate was pivotal to the financial well-being of the Parish. They employed all trades in-house. Numerous people were employed as gamekeepers, shepherds, ghillies and kennel boys. In addition, a housekeeper and domestic staff were employed all year at the lodge. Office staff were also employed. Over them all the factor ruled, and he kept the local populace in check by threatening to remove them from the venison list. Everybody in the community got a piece of venison, but if you moved out of place you were removed from the list.

Over the decades, part of the estates were sold and employment opportunities markedly decreased. As a community we were faced with the situation of Glencanisp and Drumrunie being offered for sale. The Highlands are littered with traditional estates having been sold to those alien to our culture and way of life, and whom it is next to impossible to contact if a land problem arises.

In addition to this, recent statistical information has been released which shows the increased value of sporting estates. We’ve already been given examples of the financial input that’s needed to keep them running. So to my mind what this is saying is, "Buy a Highland estate, do nothing with it, and you are more or less guaranteed an above-inflation return on your money". Sterility equates to negative growth. For too long the Highlands have languished as a play-area.

At this stage I wish to make it clear that I do not consider myself as a radical on a mission, but I am someone who cares passionately for the well-being of Assynt.

I would here like to pay tribute to the Vestey family, the selling agents and their legal team for the courtesy extended during negotiations. This is not said in a patronising fashion, for not only am I aware of the benevolence which the Vestey family have shown to the Parish over many decades, but I am also due them a debt of gratitude for my personal dealings with them over the years.

The fact was that the land was going up for sale, the Vestey era was over and I believe no longer should the community be subjected to the lottery of who should succeed.

What next?

I have just about completed negotiations with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). You will say, “So what? Private landlords have been making such arrangements for decades.” Hitherto such arrangements were between the private landlord and SNH. Only if the land was under crofting tenure was a section of the community consulted, but normally the agreement was a fait accompli. The agreement reached is one not in the interest of an individual, but in the interest of the wider community.

I listened with interest to what Ian Jardine had to say. I can say that the kind of document that I have bears little resemblance to the first one that was delivered to me.

The main thrust of my argument was that the Land Reform Act places a statutory obligation on
a community to achieve social, economic and environmental objectives. At times one becomes exasperated when we hear of plants, which they would have us believe existed in pre-creation times, which we need to have protected. No group of people exists that cares for and has cared for our wonderful landscape like the indigenous people. The agreement reached has taken into account the environmental objectives of Drumrunie Estate and the SSSIs while agreeing to Sustainable Development of the rest of our lands.

A Deer Management Agreement is another matter which we have concluded. This not only recognises the need for a reduction in deer numbers, but also the need to keep the herd at a level so that it does not impact drastically on neighbouring estates. One of our neighbouring private landlords has agreed to act as an independent assessor.

It has been said that “idealism can be directly measured in proportion to the person’s distance from the problem,” but like Martin Luther King “I have a dream.”

We are actively examining the provision of affordable housing; my own preference is for shared ownership with the right of pre-emption, so that the housing stock remains affordable in perpetuity. In conjunction with this we will examine a biomass district heating scheme, the fuel being provided by the tenants of the Forestry Crofts, which we hope to establish at Ledbeg. As Capital Growth and obscene profits have been removed from the equation and the need to financially wash one’s face substituted instead, this type of partnership arrangement is now possible.

We are currently looking for partnership agreements in order to be at the cutting edge of technological advances in the biomass and biofuels business. On a weekly, if not daily basis, members of the public are coming forward with business ideas. I am hopeful that at least three small businesses will have commenced before the year ends.

In Assynt, as has been already mentioned, we are faced with a unique and challenging set of circumstances. The land we are custodians of has little or no road access to it. An established income stream was not acquired when the land was purchased. Despite these handicaps, the community still backed us in acquiring the estates. I think that it is important to emphasise a public ballot was held. Unfortunately I don’t have the figures to hand, but, we had about a 70-80% return on the ballot, and of those that were returned, we had about 70-odd-percent in favour. I think it will stand on its own in terms of a democratic decision.

As far as Assynt Foundation itself is concerned, for the princely sum of £1 anybody who is resident within the parish and is on the voters role can join and have a full democratic say in the running of it. All of us are elected to office by means of a public ballot.

I have given you some of our vision, but - as previously mentioned - we are in a penurious state. Accordingly I have with me some associated member forms which you can complete to participate in our future success. You will also receive a regular newsletter which will let you know how much of my dream has turned into reality.

You could have someone standing here today who could articulate better than I the cause of community land ownership. But what I’m quite confident of is that you could not have anyone standing before you today who is more passionate for the well being of Assynt.

I will conclude by reminding you of the well-known phrase – take care of Assynt and Scotland will take care of itself.

Thank you.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

Land-Care is grateful to Tony Andrews, CEO Scottish Countryside Alliance, and to Dick Playfair of Playfair Walker for the invitation to attend the conference in a media capacity, the opportunity to participate in both formal and informal discussion, and for their help in providing Land-Care with transcripts of the papers presented.

No responsibility for errors or omissions in the transcription process can be taken by SCA, Playfair Walker or Land-Care.

Kimpton Graphics is a division of Land-Care.

Finis

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Land management - a mix of stewardship.

The Assynt Community buyout

Paper presented at the SCA annual conference

"Who should run the countryside? Rural Scotland 2006"

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh 25th April 2006

Alastair Macaskill

Chairman, The Assynt Foundation

Filed 18 May 06
©www.land-care.org.uk

©www.land-care.org.uk

Further reading recommended by Land-Care

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

MENU

Land management - a mix of stewardship.

The Assynt Community buyout

Paper presented at the SCA annual conference

"Who should run the countryside? Rural Scotland 2006"

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh 25th April 2006

Alastair Macaskill

Chairman, The Assynt Foundation

Filed 18 May 06 ©www.land-care.org.uk

©www.land-care.org.uk

Further reading recommended by Land-Care

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

Filed 18 May 06
©www.land-care.org.uk