Aspects of Scotland's Land Reform legislation should be easier and faster for communities to negotiate, according to Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham.

Addressing the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee recently, Ms Cunningham welcomed the research report post- legislative scrutiny of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and endorsed a review of Parts 2 and 3 of the legislation.

The Minister said: "It is important that there continues to be an on-going dialogue, that lessons are learned and new approaches considered.

"The vast majority of stakeholders who provided evidence to the researchers of the report were positive about the community right to buy and the crofting community right to buy. However, there were a number of criticisms, particularly in relation to their complexity and their limited flexibility."


"This is an opportune time to review the legislation relating to these rights with the intention of making things easier and faster to negotiate," she continued.

"Community groups should not have to negotiate unnecessary red tape to get them through these rights to buy. Equally, the legislation has to be transparent, legally sound and compliant with the European Convention of Human Rights.

"I am pleased to note that the access provisions in the Act appear to be working well," added the minister.

The Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs and Environment Committee commissioned research in April 2010 to discover how the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 was working.

Conducted by the Centre for Mountain Studies based at Perth College UHI in partnership with the UHI Centre for Remote and Rural Studies, Rural Analysis Associates and croft consultant Derek Flyn. The report is available on the Scottish Parliament website.

(GK)