Donald Dewar: Promises "far-reaching reforms"

Neglectful landowners in Scotland could be faced with compulsory purchase orders under far-reaching reforms of the nation's feudal land laws to be announced by the Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar, on Tuesday.

But this is likely to be a last resort in a list of recommendations that the government says are intended to encourage responsible land management and to support community ownership.

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Other measures - likely to face fierce opposition from landowners and Labour's Scottish opponents - will include the compilation of a new land ownership register. At present the identity of the owners of up to 30% of all land remains secret.

The government also looks set to provide cash to support a right-to-buy initiative for communities, compelling landowners to tell local people when they plan to sell their estate and, if necessary, to extend the deadline to allow the community to submit a bid.

Land owned in number of acres

The Scottish Office's Land Reform Policy Group, chaired by Lord Sewell, has been looking at ways of reforming Scotland's current land ownership system, which dates back to the 12th Century and is based on feudal principles.

At present, Scotland is the only country in Europe where there is a totally free market in land ownership. This contrasts with Denmark, for example, where foreign nationals are not even allowed to own holiday homes - they must rent.

But the system is flawed and pressure for reform has been building. A number of cases have highlighted the problems of absentee landlords and the difficulties faced by communities attempting to buy the land on which they live.

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Spokesman for the Highlands and Islands Association, Brian Beattie, said: "We've had for generations absentee landlords...they are not present on the land and take very little interest in it.

"As a result the land has suffered and the people who live on it."

In one of the most celebrated cases, the community of Eigg raised £1.5m to buy their island from German artist Marlin Maruma in April 1997. Maruma had promised a £15m investment in the island when he bought it, but the money failed to materialise.

Previous owner Keith Schellenburg was also unpopular with the islanders, who he described as "drunken, ungrateful, dangerous chancers". He once threatened to evict the entire island after his classic Rolls-Royce was destroyed in a fire.

Eigg islanders unveil a stone commemorating their purchase

A similarly unwelcome absentee landlord was Dr John Green, a pathologist form Sussex, who bought the island of Raasay in 1961. During the 10 years in which he owned the island he allowed it to fall into disrepair.

He also earned himself the nickname "Dr No" by blocking proposals to build a car ferry terminal.

The Land Reform Policy Group

The Labour Party's manifesto contained a commitment to "initiate a study into the system of land ownership and management in Scotland which will look, for example, at measures to encourage crofting as well as options for removing the rights of feudal superiority".

The Land Reform Policy Group's remit is "to identify and assess proposals for land reform in rural Scotland taking account of their cost, legislative and administrative implications and their likely impact on the social and economic development of rural communities and on the natural heritage".

They published a consultative paper called "Identifying the problem" in February 1998.