Socialism Returns to Scotland
22nd March 2011
Roseanna Cunningham, the Environment Minister, approved two applications for crofters to take ownership of the Pairc Estate on Lewis in the Western Isles.
But Barry Lomas, an English accountant whose family has owned the land since 1924, said a forced sale would breach his human rights and he was the “whipping boy” of land reform.
His had a lease with a subsidiary, Pairc Renewables, which signed a deal with Scottish and Southern Energy to build a £108 million wind farm.
But the terms of Miss Cunningham’s ruling means the land’s commercial rights will also pass to the trust. The crofters will benefit financially from any renewable energy projects, salmon fishing or commercial shooting.