A new policy document is calling for ‘meaningful community influence’ in land ownership and decision making to drive changes in the way land is used in the move toward net zero.

The Scottish Land Commission has published what it describes as a roadmap to drive forward ‘fair and balanced’ changes in the way land is used in the move towards net zero.

The paper, entitled ‘Natural capital and land reform – next steps for a just transition’, promotes a range of proposals, including the development of more targeted taxation based on land value.

It also urges the Scottish Government to consider the use of a surcharge on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) for high value land transactions, with receipts reinvested to support community land ownership and capacity, as well as improving land information.

Suggestions also include imposing greater conditionality on public funding, granting communities a more influential role in ownership and decision-making processes, and reinvesting a fair portion of the increasing land values back into supporting people across Scotland and highlights what it calls 'the existing pattern of concentrated land ownership and the relatively unregulated land market', as significant challenges.

Andrew Thin, chair of the Scottish Land Commission, said: “We find ourselves at a pivotal moment as the way we use our land is changing to meet the Government’s net zero and nature ambitions. We will need investment, both public and private, in land to do this.

!We have the opportunity to be careful in setting the terms for this investment, so that it is shared fairly and meaningfully supports the people and economy of Scotland. There is no reason this time of change cannot also accelerate the shift to more diverse land ownership and community empowerment if we are deliberate in doing so.”

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The document acknowledges there are tensions between the twin goals of the Scottish Government’s commitment to increasing the levels of responsible private investment going into climate and nature action and an ongoing programme of land reform and community empowerment.

Mr Thin added: “We understand that introducing new laws and regulations takes time, so we also propose stronger conditions on the way public funds are used which can have a more immediate impact.

“We know that people want to have a say in the way the land around them is used, but this cannot be purely symbolic. Land sales and land use change that directly affects local communities are happening now.

"Meaningful partnership agreements with communities that share ownership or decision making can be put into place now, without waiting for legislation – meaning that even if a community isn’t able to buy the land around them, they are still able to shape and benefit from the land use transition to net zero.”

The commission will also be publishing new guidance on responsible practice for investment, particularly on partnership approaches with communities. It provides advice and recommendations for law and policy, as well as leadership for change in culture and practice.

Publication of the policy document comes after the Scottish Government released an analysis of responses to its land reform consultation which covered a broad range of issues, including a new public interest test for transactions involving large-scale landholdings, suggested to be those over 3000 ha, and whether the Scottish Government should explore who should be able to acquire such large-scale landholdings.