Ullapool
The Scottish Crofting Federation are holding a meeting for representatives of common grazings affected by Crofting Commission decisions in Ullapool this coming Friday morning to exchange information and plan what can be done next.
It was reported in Hebrides Today that the Scottish Crofting Federation has expressed bafflement at the recent behaviour of the Crofting Commission in which it “seems set to antagonise crofters and put grazings at risk”.
We have, of course, reported on this bizarre behaviour:-
Abuse of power within the Crofting Commission?
Crofting Commission’s appointment of Grazings Constable is illegal
And there are even more baffling details behind some of this which will be revealed on this blog in future posts.
Hebrides Today summarised the position to date:-
The Crofting Commission recently removed two grazings committees from their offices on grounds that they did not fulfil their statutory obligations. This is vigorously denied by those removed, with claims that the commission made it impossible to comply by contradiction, vagueness and antagonism. The commission’s decision to impose a constable on one of the grazings is being questioned by a leading lawyer as to its legitimacy.
Chief Executive of the Scottish Crofting Federation, Patrick Krause, said:-
The commission is apparently behaving extremely high-handedly and their diplomacy skills are very low. Grazings shareholders need a word of comfort urgently to restore confidence in the regulator.
A public statement giving the assurance that grazings committees will not continue to be sacked, that grazings constables, legal or otherwise, will not be imposed on them and that the issue of enforcement of fatally impractical demands will be addressed, is overdue and essential to halt this calamity.
Crofters are completely perplexed at this extraordinary behaviour
Those wishing to attend the meeting being organised by the Scottish Crofting Federation in Ullapool on the morning of Friday 6th May should contact their head office:-
E-mail: HQ@crofting.org
Tel: 01599 530 005
Photo credit: Paul Hart from Glasgow, Scotland – Ullapool, CC BY-SA 2.0