Land Use and Diversification

Question 1

What are the benefits of diversification?

Answer 1

Additional income to the estate, an opportunity to enhance the environment

Question 2

What’s a heads of terms?

Answer 2

Agreement between landowner and an interested party

Question 3

What’s the difference between an option agreement and a lease?

Answer 3

option agreement – can carry out tests and investigations, and then can go into lease

Question 4

Why is there a need for NatureScot to know how many deer your clients cull?

Answer 4

To help monitor the deer population in Scotland

Question 5

Have you any involvement with Muir burning?

Answer 5

Yes – muir burn letters – 1 oct to 15 April

Question 6

What’s the muirburn code?

Answer 6

Sets out the good practice of controlled muirburn to help mitigate risks to environmental interests
Sets out how to make muirburn safely and appropriately.

Question 7

Why carry out muirburn?

Answer 7

Used to encourage new growth that is ideal for the likes of grouse, and controlled burns are regularly carried out to boost the bird species’ numbers on shooting estates.
And it has also been used to prevent the further spread of out-of-control wildfire

Question 8

What needs to be done prior to Muir burning?

Answer 8

Letters to neighbouring estates and notify the fire service

Question 9

Are there any recent policy updates in land management?

Answer 9

Wildlife management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024

Question 10

What does this act mean?

Answer 10

Need a license for grouse to shot out of the close season - Section 16AA Licence - ban of traps and snares
and license for muirburn

Question 11

Cull returns - how are these returned? What information is included? Why do we control deer in Scotland?

Answer 11

All landowners and occupiers asked to do so must provide information about all of the deer they have shot that year.
Annual cull return should record for each individual landholding the number and sex of each species of deer culled from 1 April to 31 March.
Deer cull Return form
Deer is over populated, they cause harm to the environment and road accidents

Question 12

What act governs deer management?

Answer 12

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Question 13

What is a section 7?

Answer 13

NatureScot can implement culls where damage is being caused by deer

Question 14

What are the new regulations you refer to regarding holiday cottages?

Answer 14

All operating holiday lets need to have a licence - introduced in 2022 under The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022

Question 15

When do you don’t need a felling license?

Answer 15

Exemption – diameter is 10cm or less, immediate danger, dead tree, SSE lines, 5m3 of timber

Question 16

What is the fine if you don’t have a felling license but require one?

Answer 16

£5k per tree and a criminal record

Question 17

What peat depth can you plant a tree?

Answer 17

50cm

Question 18

What needs considered whilst searching for a new woodland creation site?

Answer 18

Land capability, the access to the site, potential species, any environmental designations, aspect of the land

Question 19

Why would a landowner consider doing a woodland creation scheme?

Answer 19

Enhances biodiversity and the environment, opportunity to off set carbon, additional income down the line if to harvest the timber

Question 20

Land Reform Scotland Bill 2024

Answer 20

13 March 2024.

The key focuses include:

• land management plans with an emphasis on promoting engagement within local communities. Compliance with an additional two codes of practice:
  1. the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, as set out in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003; and
  2. the Code of Practice on Deer Management, contained within the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
  And how the landowner intends to manage the land to contribute towards net-zero, adapt to climate change, and increase and sustain biodiversity
  Fines of up to £1,000
• community engagement and right to buy - on landowners with single or composite holdings in excess of 3,000 hectares, or 1,000 hectares where the holdings constitute more than 25% of an inhabited island.
• further reform to agricultural holdings
• expanding on the existing regulatory framework following on from the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016

The Bill takes this further, requiring landowners of holdings of 1,000 hectares or more to give notice to communities when those landowners intend to sell all or part of their holdings