Povlsen: I will do my best for everyone
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Scotland’s biggest landowner has found it ‘impossible’ to comment on one politician’s hopes of ultimately leaving him with just 500 hectares – by removing the other 89,000.
Anders Holch Povlsen, who when here bases himself at his beloved Glenfeshie Estate, told the Strathy: “It feels impossible to comment on, so I have to refrain from it at this stage.”
The stage is two-fold: for a year Holyrood has been carrying out consultations on an SNP proposal to limit landowners to 3000 hectares.
Considering that ‘too timid’, Labour’s Mercedes Villalba, who represents the North East as a list MSP, unveiled her own plans to put a presumed limit of 500 hectares on how much land a person can own, sell, or transfer without triggering a public interest test.
Currently, she says, 432 landowners own 50 per cent of all Scotland’s privately owned rural land.
Her own limit would mean that crofters, the vast majority of farmers, allotment holders, and other small scale land-owners would not be affected.
Her own consultation period is on-going until September.
She has argued that the present system is severely limiting access to affordable homes, stifling job creation, increasing land prices, and harming the environment.
Mr Povlsen and his re-wilding operation, Wildland Ltd based in Aviemore, has responded to the Holyrood consultation, although he was not at liberty to copy the Strathy in to the submission.
But as he continued with his 200-year vision of regenerating Glenfeshie, he confirmed: “I’ll do my best to keep motivation high, continue to do my work, to be delivering on the ground, for our people and our teams, taking the best care of Wildland as at all possible for the long-term benefits of everyone.”
Engaged in meetings all week, Ms Villalba referred the Strathy to the consultation for her proposal – the Land Ownership and Public Interest (Scotland) Bill – which began on June 7.
The consultation is set to run for 14 weeks.
“There is a need for stronger action to disrupt the concentration of land ownership in Scotland”, she contends.
Her proposal has achieved cross-party support including from SNP MSPs John Mason and Ruth Maguire and Green MSP Mark Ruskell.
“The super-rich are hoarding land that should be run by community representatives and co-operatives for the benefit of everyone.
“This Land Justice Bill is an opportunity for Scotland to end the hugely iniquitous and archaic land ownership arrangements that date back to medieval times.”
