Land court rules on croft sales

The judgement followed a sitting of the land court in Wick

A Caithness estate which opposed the purchase of two crofts on its land has met with mixed results.

Sitting tenant Eva Waugh has been given the go-ahead to buy the holding at Brickigoe on Thrumster Estate, south of Wick, for £2,550.

But a judgement from the Scottish Land Court has blocked her bid to buy a nearby croft.

The court ruled that the sale of South Yarrows would cause substantial hardship to the estate company.

'Spiralling price'

The judgement follows a sitting at Wick Sheriff Court in May when Thrumster Estate claimed the two crofts formed an integral part of the estate.

Ms Waugh lives at South Yarrows with her sister Helen.

Witnesses told the court of the spiralling price being paid for owner-occupied croft land in rural Caithness, with house plots fetching upwards of £25,000.

Sheriff Roderick MacLeod based the judgement regarding South Yarrows on the impact it would have on both the sporting interests and the promotion of the area's outstanding archaeology.