Note from the presentation delivered by Jayne Glass and Rob McMorran of the
University of the Highlands and Islands Centre for Mountain Studies, at the
Burghfield Hotel, Dornoch, on 1/11/11.
Working together for sustainable estate communities
The project was designed to fill a gap which had been identified in current research
which had been carried out to date on large upland estates. This was to be achieved
through four research projects:
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The role of private estate owners in facilitating sustainable rural communities in
upland Scotland
The motivations and sustainability perceptions of private estate owners
A study of the sustainability of community-owned estates
A sustainability assessment tool for upland estates
The research team found issues which cut across all four research projects:
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All estates were subject to similar pressures:
o Financial viability
o Asset limitations (lack of resources)
o Spiral of decline (interlinked with asset limitations)
o Social / physical distance
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‘Sustainable estates’ took a proactive approach encompassing five key
principles:
o Adapting management (long-term view, partnership and network working)
o Broadening options (diversifying)
o Ecosystem thinking (maintain natural resources)
o Linking into the social fabric (playing a part in maintaining communities)
o Thinking beyond the estate (partnership working etc)
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The benefits of proactive estates were evident on all types of estates
The team have produced the booklet Working together for sustainable estate
communities from the research carried out from the four projects and this is available at
www.sustainable–estates.co.uk.
Introduction
Community engagement and interaction with land use decisions are increasingly
recognised in public policy. For example within,
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Scottish National Planning Framework
Land Use Strategy
Land Reform (Scotland) Act
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Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill (Scotland)
Key concepts:
 What is an estate?
 What does sustainability mean in an estate context?
 Building resilient estate communities.
Benefits
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Sense of responsibility in providing opportunities
Involving communities increased confidence and developed new perspectives.
Estates were able to access wider funding by engaging with communities.
Way to release volunteer energy.
(re)connecting people to the land by involving them in land management
decisions (tourism, allotments, gardens, employment opportunities created).
Making robust and accepted decisions. Engagement with the community
increases support and trust of the estate and minimises uncertainty.
Reducing a perceived disconnect.
Challenges
1. Resource limitations
 Time and skills (staff and community)
 Financial
 Volunteer burden
 Consultation fatigue
2. Communication difficulties
 Openness
 Preconceptions
 Personality clashes
 Narrow engagement (some groups have a louder voice)
3. Contrasting perspectives
 Personal values
 Community divisions / priorities
 ‘them’ and ‘us’
4. Develop accountable decision making processes
 Power imbalances
 Responsible for processes and outcomes
 Changes in ownership or representatives
A general discussion then followed:
Did the research team find many examples of estates releasing land for crofting?
Crofting is a great device for retaining population but the research team did not see
estates pursuing it yet. Community estates do have it in their plans, but concentrating
on other issues first. It was also pointed out that crofting is difficult for new local
entrants to get into and the problem of absentee crofters was highlighted, as was the
problem of absentee land-owners.
Are estates aware of the ability to create tenant-only crofts with no right-to-buy
The feeling of the meeting was that not many are aware.
Motivations and outcomes: Do estates see the benefits?
Estates are positive about the benefits from the research. Longer term benefits are
recognised including planning, and development of knowledge and skills within the
community. The Scottish Landed Estates are keen to promote the findings.
North Highland Forestry Trust has been involved in community tree planting schemes
through the SRDP and are well-experienced in sourcing SRDP funding for such
projects.
The Highland Council Care Unit at Beachview provides supported employment and has
been involved in agricultural projects but desperately needs access to more land to
expand its activities. This is also true of the composting and recycling Social Enterprise
Grean which is a major employer in the County of Sutherland but needs room to extend
its operational base.
The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust gave an insight into the work
they have been involved with.
There is a huge potential for more housing partnerships to form and this could lead to
the ability to access more funding opportunities. By engaging the community they can
gauge the demand that exists and act as a facilitator. In Helmsdale there is a project to
build six houses which will be community owned. There are examples where common
grazings have been used to build housing for instance the Hebridean Housing
Partnership. Investment from estates is also evident, such as Loch Allan, where a
financial benefit is derived from the rental income.
One estate represented at the seminar partakes in forestry activities and identified with
the findings, and recognised that the distance between the community and the estate
management had an impact. The result is that trust between the community and the
estate is lacking as time is not spent to develop these relationships. They recognised
that they may be a need for an ‘honest broker’ to act as a mediator between the
community and the estate.
However, it was pointed out that in areas such as Altnaharra other barriers such as a
lack of infrastructure can prevent development. Land had been offered for housing as
well as the possibility of refurbishing the old school house but this was not taken up.
The role of the community councils was also discussed and the research team found
that there was often a lack of resources at community council level. Time to send
members to estate meetings was a factor while on community estates a lack of man
power was an issue as volunteers are spread across more organisations.
The Scottish Crofting Federation asked about engagement with absentee
landowners and it was acknowledged that there was no easy solution to this
issue.
The idea of a charter was suggested which estates would sign up to. The next stage for
the Sustainable Estates team will be to transform their research findings into policy
recommendations to the Scottish Government in Holyrood.
It was also asked how many of the estates which the team looked at were stock
orientated. The team confirmed that few of the estates were stock orientated. The
community estates tended to be focusing on getting crofts established first but they may
move towards stocking later. It was recognised that an integrated approach was
required in order to avoid abandonment and to get stock on the hills.
In summary, it was agreed that the 120 or so main Sutherland Estates should be
approached to see if they might contribute more to the social and economic
challenges of the County of Sutherland in a time of deep and enduring recession.