Delays and accusations of mismanagement are threatening to disrupt one of Scottish Executive's flagship land reform projects.

Criticism is growing in the Highlands over the management of the Orbost Estate on Skye.

Local people say delays and mismanagement have thrown the whole land reform experiment into doubt.

The Orbost Estate, bought for more than £500,000, is meant to be the showcase of the government's commitment to reform land ownership and management in Scotland.

House plans condemned

But more than two years after it was taken over by Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise to provide up to a dozen smallholdings, the land remains uncultivated.

Plans to build a cluster of houses have been condemned by a range of local groups.

The first couple to move into Orbost are under threat of eviction over a rent dispute and the growing number of critics on Skye say enterprise chiefs are behaving like the worst of Highland lairds.

Chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise Jim Hunter, who led the buyout, insisted the project would be a success but admitted he was disapointed by the delays and hostility.

It was announced last month that £11m would be made available over the next three years to help communities buy and manage land.

Lottery money

The money, being made available from the Lottery Commission, will be distributed by a new Scottish Land Fund.

It is also expected to pay for land management and training.

The executive has set great store on bringing about land reform.

Outlining proposals in a white paper in July, Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace said he wanted to bring a "modern and fair approach" to land issues.