Commission seeks views on land use decisions: New protocol will help organisations to work better together

The Scottish Land Commission has launched a new survey seeking the views of communities about community engagement in decisions relating to land.
The commission wants to make sure all people in Scotland have the opportunity to be involved in decisions about land which significantly affect them.
Currently, organisations in Langholm and Newcastleton are working with Buccleuch over the sale of land which includes Langholm Moor and are investigating the potential for a community buy-out.
Buccleuch has given them until the end of March to come up with plans.
The commission supports communities, landowners and land managers to work together to make better and fairer decisions about land use through its first protocol on Community Engagement in Decisions Relating to Land.
The protocol supports the guidance on engaging communities in decisions which was published by the Scottish government in April last year.
Over the next couple of years the commission will review the effectiveness of the guidance and recommend improvements if needed.
The survey will establish a baseline against which progress can be measured and identify where further support needs to be developed by the commission or other organisations.
Individual residents and community organisations in both urban and rural Scotland are being asked to complete the survey.
The Commission hopes to learn more about how the way land or buildings are managed and has an impact on communities; know what opportunities people have to influence decisions made when land use changes and hear what type of support is needed to make engagement more effective.
Helen Barton, the commission’s community engagement adviser, said: “We want to hear from communities in both urban and rural Scotland to find out what level of community engagement is taking place around decisions related to land.
“Individuals can respond but also anyone involved with organisations such as community councils, tenants’ or residents’ groups or local government.
“The information provided will not include any personal identifying information and we will collate and analyse the responses to see where there are trends.
“It is important to get an idea of what community engagement is happening now to not only use as a baseline measure but also to see whether there are any lessons we can learn from current practices.”
In the survey the commission is also looking to find out how many respondents are aware of the government’s guidance its own protocol for community engagement, which sets out general and specific expectations for owners and managers of land.
The survey will be open for responses until the end of September and is at
www.landcommission.gov.scot/communityengagement.