Tag Archives: Crofting Connections

Future of Crofting Conference in Tweets

Future of Crofting Conference - Jean Urquhart MSPI was live tweeting from @croftinglaw yesterday at The Future of Crofting Conference in Inverness. Here is what I tweeted:-

The Future of Crofting Conference gets underway #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference gets underway

Importance of crofting to the economy and need for practical measures to assist being espoused by @JamieMcGrigor #croftingfuture

We can now see but not hear @AileenMcLeodMSP. Technical issues with video sound hopefully be resolved shortly! #croftingfuture

We now have @AileenMcLeodMSP on screen both vision and sound. #croftingfuture

Hearing about @AileenMcLeodMSP’s visits around Crofting Counties (including Orkney and Shetland) and visits to @CroftingScot #croftingfuture

Meant to tweet a pic of @AileenMcLeodMSP at #croftingfuture conference. Here it is:

Aileen McLeod at Future of Crofting Conference

Now hearing from @AileenMcLeodMSP about the Vision for Crofting being formulated by various stakeholder groups #croftingfuture

Discussion by @AileenMcLeodMSP about @CroftingLawSump and taking crofting legislation forward in next parliamentary session #croftingfuture

Importance of young crofters being highlighted by @AileenMcLeodMSP #croftingfuture

Reference by @JamieMcGrigor to @AileenMcLeodMSP being an early SPICE girl! #croftingfuture

Next up @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Crofting “a smallholding entirely surrounded by regulations… OR a model for the 21st century?” @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Four main issues emerged from @MarkShucksmith’s report #croftingfuture

Mark Shucksmith - four main crofting issues

Working the land was the message @MarkShucksmith got over and over again #croftingfuture

Key diagram for better governance @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Mark Shucksmith - Key Crofting Diagram for Better Governance

Regulation half the story need development @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Early cross party support but that turned by some into bin @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Bin @MarkShucksmith’s Report image #croftingfuture:

Mark Shucksmith - Bin the Crofting Report Campaign

Unfinished business @MarkShucksmith #croftingfuture

Mark Shucksmith - Unfinished Crofting Business

Evidence from @MarkShucksmith’s Report still there but does anyone refer to it today? Should still do so when considering #croftingfuture

Report by @MarkShucksmith been translated into Japanese. Norway, Ireland and West Virginia all looking at it. #croftingfuture

Introduction given by @iangeorgemacdo1 in Gaelic. Now speaking (in English) about the ‘new’ Crofting Commission #croftingfuture

Latest @CroftingScot Plan more fully aligned with legislation @iangeorgemacdo1 #croftingfuture perhaps depending on your interpretation 😉

Large amount of cooperation with @coftingscot at roadshows from all stakeholders #croftingfuture

5 main areas to focus on in #croftingfuture….

1. Simplify crofting legislation #croftingfuture

2. Make crofts available to new entrants #croftingfuture

3. Increase affordable housing with meaningful grants and loans #croftingfuture

4. Provide specific ring fenced funding to a lead body to develop crofting #croftingfuture

5. Provide financial incentives through Pillars 1 and 2 #croftingfuture

RT @culcairn Mr Inksters addressing conference #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference - Brian Inkster - The Sump

View from the fank: Young crofters need help with housing and crofters need less forms to fill out. #croftingfuture

Strong sense at #croftingfuture conference that croft mortgages should have been introduced in 2010 Act as originally intended. @scotgov

Get @BillGates to come to crofting counties + use renewable energy on crofts to power @Microsoft servers located in Scotland #croftingfuture

Prof @FrankRennie‘s #croftingfuture presentation ‘The Wider Cultural Context’ is available here:

Now Neil Ross of HIE on Crofting development #croftingfuture

Importance of working together – collaboration #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference - Neil Ross - Collaboration

Now discussing wooly willows in species re-introductions to Scotland #croftingfuture

Panel discussion on crofting development #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference - Panel on Development

More crofts needed #croftingfuture – perhaps reallocating absent and neglected crofts first rather than creating more that may go that way?

How do you actually bring crofting to Moray and Nairnshire? #croftingfuture – no easy answer to that one!

RT @kate4SLB Great quote at #futureofcrofting ‘should do away with the word ‘remote’ – anywhere outside the Highlands is remote for us!’

Only crofters themselves and those that aspire to be crofters can drive the future of crofting @JimHunter22 #croftingfuture

Can buy 200,000 acres of land in Sutherland and no regulation affecting it but not the case with a 5 acre croft @JimHunter22 #croftingfuture

Land Reform the elephant in the room. Crofting not a poor man’s farm. Need to know what we want, clarify that + move forward #croftingfuture

#croftingfuture afternoon session opened and to be facilitated by @JeanUrquhartMSP

Gordon Jackson of @scotgov now looking at the Vision #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference - Gordon Jackson - Vision

Average age of a farmer = 58. Crofter probably a bit higher. #croftingfuture

Hearing about croftingconnections.com -exemplary and of national importance #croftingfuture

Now hearing about @SCFYC #croftingfuture

View from the fank on #croftingfuture is an optimistic one.

Final panel Q&A of the day at #croftingfuture

Future of Crofting Conference - Final Panel Session

Landlords who created crofts made them too small to force crofters into other work as well @JimHunter22 #croftingfuture

Very positive to hear young folk positive about the future of crofting @JimHunter22 #croftingfuture

Need to expand @WoodlandCrofts being discussed #croftingfuture

Commitment from @SCFHq to help create new crofts #croftingfuture

Can create new crofts from large ones. One big croft could be divided into several smaller ones. #croftingfuture

Best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. Second best time is today. @JeanUrquhartMSP recommends we take action asap #croftingfuture

RT @SCFYC “Let’s not stand back & watch while crofting disappears, we are a vital part of agriculture in Scotland” – Jean Urquhart MSP

#croftingfuture conference comes to an end. Interesting day and look forward to @scotgov action on @CroftingLawSump in 2016.

Brian Inkster

Common Grazings and the Lewis Gathering

Crofting Federation GatheringI was in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, on 19 and 20 September 2013 for the Scottish Crofting Federation’s annual Gathering. The theme of this year’s crofting conference was Common Grazings: Utilising Potential.

The conference was ably chaired by Derek Flyn and well organised by Patrick Krause and his staff from the Federation. A good and diverse range of speakers made for a very interesting and enjoyable conference. I am not, in this review, going to cover all the talks that were given but will focus on those that had a crofting law aspect as this is, after all, a crofting law blog.

Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, should have been the keynote speaker but parliamentary business detained him in Edinburgh and his place was taken by David Barnes, Deputy Director of Agriculture and Rural Development.

David told us that the Crofting Commission has a focused not diminished role. Some, I would suggest, might argue with a focus in the wrong places!

Over 80 new crofts have been created in the last 5 years. Mention was made of crofters being allowed to be absent with good cause. My experience does not bear this out. But then my view of good cause may be quite different from that held by the Crofting Commission.

The Scottish Government were disappointed by the number of voluntary registrations on the Crofting Register. Not that surprising. Apart from a token discount for community registrations there was no real incentive to do it voluntarily.

Crofting Federation Gathering (Fair Isle Bunting)

David Barnes referred to the “specific and acute problem” with the 2010 Act that created a flaw in decrofting procedures and resulted in the 2013 Act to remedy that. The Scottish Government were very aware indeed that this is far from being the only issue with crofting legislation. They will be carrying out a consultation later this year. They need to take their time. Owner-occupiers who are not owner-occupier crofters and cannot decroft without the consent of neighbouring landowners may take a different view about the need to take any more time over that particular issue.

On the question of what form legislative reform might take David Barnes asked: “Do we look for where holes are and put patches on them or do we have a root and branch rewrite?” This question is one that is likely to tax MSPs in the coming months (or years perhaps depending on how much time will actually be taken over it).

My own view is that there are pressing issues that need be dealt with sooner rather than later and others where time can be taken. We may need at least two Bills: one within the next year (patching holes) and a more comprehensive one (possibly a rewrite) to follow in the fullness of time.

Julia Aglionby from the Foundation for Common Land told us of some of the differences between Scotland and England & Wales. In England & Wales a shareholder is a commoner. In England & Wales all renewable payments go to the landowners and none to the commoners. Compare crofting shareholders in Scotland who receive 50% of those payments. Less than 5% of common grazings in Scotland are signed up to schemes to assist them. In England more than 80%. Why? We didn’t get any clear answers.

John King of Registers of Scotland gave an update on the Crofting Register. There are 300,000 transactions that pass through Registers of Scotland each year before the new Register of Crofts is counted in. Professor Shucksmith recommended a map based Crofting Register and that is what we now have. The Crofting Register is free to view online. 29 common grazings have been registered on the Crofting Register to date. This is much better than I ever expected by this early stage. 9 crofts have been registered to date. Most with plans produced by crofters themselves. Registers of Scotland can help by providing crofters with OS maps to plot their croft on. Derek Flyn referred to Registers of Scotland having been user friendly with the Crofting Register.

Alister Danter of Business Gateway discussed management structures for crofting communities and mentioned the possibility of crowdfunding.

Iain Maciver from Community Land Scotland told us that freehold land is often favoured over common grazings for development because of crofting issues that arise. Soumings are now relevant more than they were in the past when renewable developments take place on common grazings.

Whilst we were in Stornoway Town Hall other crofting activities were taking place around Lewis for the school children participating in Crofting Connections. The children also sat in on some of the sessions in the Town Hall.

I enjoyed the Gathering and am already looking forward to next year’s one.

Brian Inkster