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Acrimonious accusations as Pairc buyout deadline passes 29/10/10
Crofters and landlord have exchanged acrimonious accusations over the hostile Pairc buyout bid as a crucial decision over the future ownership of the 20,000 acre estate is awaited from the Scottish Government.
Today (Fri) marks the formal end of the lengthy legal process of what is Scotland’s first hostile crofting estate takeover under the controversial Land Reform Act.
The statutory minimum period to consider submissions has now passed and the Scottish Government must decide whethever to take the land off its owner and hand it to villagers.
But the ultimate decision may be decided in the law courts. Landlord Barry Lomas is seeking a judicial review to throw out the hostile bid. He also wants £760,000 from the Pairc Trust or the Scottish Government, for his expenses in dealing with the buyout application.
Last December, a ballot saw 195 people vote in favour of the takeover with 87 against
with a 75% turnout.
The crofting buyout legislation has never been used in its seven
years of existence but is invoked now because estate owner Barry Lomas is reluctant
to sell.
In the background is the delayed planning decision over Scottish and Southern Energy’s
proposed £200 million giant wind farm on the Pairc moor which could -
At last night’s (Thurs) annual Angus ‘Ease’ Macleod memorial lecture, a plea was made for an early buyout decision.
Angus McDowall, chairman of Pairc Trust, said: “It is now time for Ministers to match with action their rhetoric in favour of community land ownership in the overall public interest.
“We have faithfully carried out everything required of us, backed by the community at every stage, and despite a succession of legal and financial moves by our landlord designed to frustrate the clearly expressed wishes of the community and the intentions of the legislation.”
He added: “We believe that, if the political will is there, there is now nothing to stop Ministers taking a positive decision on our applications, and we call on them to do so.
“This will give the clearest possible signal to the landlord that land should be used to benefit the whole community, not just a privileged few.”
But Barry Lomas accused Pairc Trust of spreading “lies and deceits” over the issue.
He maintains he was offered a deal by Pairc Trust in November 2009, where he could keep the wind farm interposed lease and the landlord’s share of the SSE windfarm profits.
However, Mr Lomas says the community were “deceived” as the election pamphlet asked the Pairc community to vote Yes, so that Pairc Trust could purchase the lease and receive the landlord’s share of the income.”
He says the “election pamphlet did not explain to the electorate the truth.
“If the deceit been known by the electorate, the 52% Yes vote may have been significantly reduced.”
Mr Lomas says Pairc Trust falsely told the Scottish Government it took no account of community benefit from the commercial wind farm.
He says this is inaccurate because Pairc Trust’s business plan “shows it receiving
‘SSE Windfarm Community Benefit’ income of £768,000, but making no grants whatsoever
to the community, as all of this community benefit is used to support its loss making
projects.”
Mr Lomas says there are “nearly 250 errors in Pairc Trust’s business plan“
which, he maintains, are so materially significant that they render the business
plan incompetent and the applications unsustainable and not in the public interest.”