Community buy-out schemes will be able to apply for a share of a £10m a year fund.
Communities looking to buy their own land have been given a major boost with the announcement of a new fund to help them.
The Scottish Land Fund will open in 1 April and will make £10 million available every year until 2020 for buy-outs.
Scottish Government land reform minister Dr Aileen McLeod said the fund marked a “new dawn” and urged communities to consider whether owning the land they live and work on could mean it could offer greater benefit for local people.
The new fund was announced as Holyrood debated the land reform bill, which could push through changes such forcing land sales if owners block economic development and bolstering the right to roam.
Owning and developing community assets recognises the strength of people who are at the heart of all communities
A previous land fund awarded £9m over three years to 52 communities throughout Scotland. Of the 500,000 acres of land already in community ownership, over 90,000 acres was purchased with its help..
Dr McLeod said: “Land is one of Scotland’s most valuable assets and owning land can help communities realise their aspirations and dreams, make a real difference to long term sustainability and build stronger, resilient and supportive communities.
“Each community has its own set of reasons for wanting to take on the ownership of land. The important thing is that communities are able to make the right choice for them in order to meet local needs and further sustainable development in their local area. This is why we have restructured the fund to ensure support is available to communities from the idea stages right through to project development. I want to spread the word about the benefits that can be achieved through community ownership of land and encourage both urban and rural communities to apply to the Scottish Land Fund.”
Jackie Killeen, director of Big Lottery Fund Scotland, which is administering the fund, said: “Owning and developing community assets recognises the strength of people who are at the heart of all communities – those who live and work in a place.
“Here at the Big Lottery Fund we have been supporting groups in urban and rural Scotland through the Scottish Land Fund and our lottery funded community assets programme since 2006. We know and understand the difference that community ownership is having across the country and we look forward to supporting more communities and people to make the right decision for them - delivering social, environmental and economic benefits for generations to come.”
Lorne Macleod, chair of Community Land Scotland, said: "This is fantastic news. I'd urge communities out there who have ideas to get them together as soon as possible as this is a time limited offer and plans can take a while to work up. This is a great opportunity."
