NEARLY three quarters of people in Scotland support widening ownership of both urban and rural land, a public survey has found.

The survey of 1500 people also found climate change, building on greenspace and inequality in land ownership are considered three of the biggest issues for the future of Scotland’s land.

The Scottish Government survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI in collaboration with Scotland’s Rural College, looked at the public's attitudes to land reform and community engagement in decisions about land use.

While 73% of those surveyed knew very little about the Scottish Government’s land reform agenda, participants were aware of challenges related to land in Scotland, including concentrated ownership, absentee landlords, housing developments encroaching on the green belt, vacant and derelict land, disputes over access rights, and land banking – where investors buy land in the hope of making a greater profit in the future.

Nearly three quarters (71%) of survey respondents supported widening ownership of both rural and urban land to include more public, community and third sector ownership, while only 7% opposed that aim.

A considerable number of respondents (44%) were concerned about vacant or derelict land in their area, and there was a feeling that urban examples of communities buying buildings or unused land benefitted a greater number of people for a much lower cost, than rural examples of relatively large land purchases where populations are smaller.

Respondents viewed climate change (24%), building on greenspace (18%) and inequality in landownership (17%) as the three biggest challenges for Scotland’s land.

The majority of respondents said it was important to consider the protection of wildlife (96%) and climate change (89%) when making decisions about land use.

Interdisciplinary researcher in the Rural Policy Centre at SRUC, Rob McMorran, said: “There is an evident appetite among the participants for greater involvement in decisions about land use. Initiatives to encourage this should tap into the pride that is felt in Scotland's land, but also the concerns about vacant and derelict land, about the lack of community facilities and about land not being used to benefit local communities."

For more information about the survey, which was published by the Scottish Government, visit: www.gov.scot/publications/attitudes-land-reform