News

Greater environmental focus in agricultural consultation welcome – but further crucial detail needed

Press Release

Change needed to enable a bright future for Scottish farming and land management can be delivered by new agriculture legislation – but a significant lack of detail needs to be addressed rapidly by government. Responding to a consultation regarding a new agriculture bill for Scotland, rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates...

Deputy FM responds to industry letter on business rates

General News

Deputy First Minister and interim Finance Secretary, John Swinney MSP, has responded to an industry letter calling on the Scottish Government to freeze business rates in the forthcoming Scottish budget statement on 15 December. Nineteen leading business representative groups and industry bodies, including Scottish Land & Estates and...

National Parks in Scotland should continue balancing environmental, social and economic goals

Press Release

Scotland’s national parks should retain a balance of bringing together environmental, social and economic objectives rather than a singular focus on the drive to net-zero and nature recovery. Scottish Land & Estates, the rural business organisation, made the comments as part of its response to a NatureScot consultation, The future for...

Pioneering golden eagle project backed by chick donations from Scotland’s rural estates

Press Release

Rural estates have been praised for their vital contribution towards restoring a thriving golden eagle population in the south of Scotland. In total, 20 eagle chicks have been translocated for the project since 2018 – with 18 of those coming from estates owned privately. Pitmain & Glenbanchor Estate near Kingussie and Rottal Estate near...

Business bodies unite to call for rates freeze

Press Release

Nineteen leading business representative groups and industry bodies have jointly written to the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister and Interim Finance Secretary asking him to freeze the business rate in the coming financial year. The nineteen organisations, of which Scottish Land & Estates is one, represent a broad cross section...

Off-grid payment increase welcome but won't prevent rural fuel poverty

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates has welcomed the Chancellor’s uplift in alternative fuel payments – but warned the additional £100 will not prevent energy poverty in rural Scotland this winter. The rural business organisation has been leading the campaign for increased financial support for off grid homes to achieve parity with the Energy Price...

FAST calls for urgent co-design commitment from Scottish Government

Press Release

The recently-established Food & Agriculture Stakeholders’ Taskforce (FAST) today challenged the Scottish Government to take urgent steps to include the farming industry in the co-design of future agriculture policy. During a seminar at AgriScot, FAST representative, Doug Bell, called on Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs...

SLE statement on The RSPB’s Birdcrime 2021 report

Press Release

Following publication of the RSPB’s Birdcrime 2021 report, Scottish Land & Estates has issued the following statement. “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any act of raptor persecution or bird crime. Our members are wholly committed to a zero tolerance of illegal activity. Anyone who commits a bird crime should be punished...

SLE welcomes Anna to property policy role

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates has welcomed a new rural property expert to its headquarters policy team. Anna Gardiner has joined SLE as a Policy Adviser (Rural Property), bringing a wealth of experience from her career in commercial and residential property. From a childhood on a farm in the Scottish Borders, Anna went on to study Land Economy...

New planning framework's flexibility can benefit rural Scotland

Press Release

Rural-focused provisions within the latest draft of the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) have been given a cautious welcome by rural business organisation, Scottish Land & Estates. The approach contained within NPF4 includes: A shift towards more presumption in favour of rural development, especially to support fragile communities...