Isles MSP moves to close
to crofting loophole

Isles MSP moves to close to crofting loophole

Western Isles SNP MSP, Alasdair Allan, is seeking to close a loophole in crofting law which has allowed useful land to be taken out of crofting in the past.

Dr Allan has submitted an amendment to the Crofting Reform Bill removing the so called ’sale by nominee’ anomaly, a loophole which has the potential to allow speculation in croft land by housing developers.

Alasdair Allan commented: ‘A number of crofters have contacted me who were anxious to ensure that the Crofting Reform Bill corrects some unintended consequences created by the so called “Macdonald Whitbread ruling.

‘This ruling, which is not quite as obscure as its name suggests, may have had some benefits at the time it was first made. However, since then it allowed a small number of crofters to appoint a “nominee”, often associated with the building trade, who receive croft land at right-to-buy prices, without any clawback. This is even when there is clearly no intention for the land to be used either for crofting, for a croft house, or for houses for the relatives of a crofter. The consequence is a fear that some areas of good crofting land have been speculated on for house plots in parts of the Highlands.

‘My amendment to the Crofting reform Bill does NOT affect a crofter’s right to bequeath or assign a croft to whomever he or she likes. However, it does remove the much more rarely-used right to appoint a “nominee” unless it is a family member.

‘I will be seeking cross party support for this amendment, which crofters themselves have come to me looking for. After the many changes which have already been made to the Crofting bill by the Government, with many of the more contentious parts of the Draft Bill already removed, I hope this is a further and improvement to the legislation, and one that is useful to crofting communities.’