Rural Land Asset Management Plan – Decision

Rural Land Asset Management Plan – Decision Summary 1. This paper seeks the Board’s approval of the attached plan for the management of SNH’s landholding and proposes seeking the Cabinet Secretary’s support for our approach. Action 2. The Board is asked to: approve the Rural Asset Management Plan at Annex 1; and agree that the Chairman should write to the Cabinet Secretary seeking her support for the plan, offering to keep her sighted on the progress of individual cases of transfer of ownership, and to seek her views on those that are likely to be contentious. Preparation of Paper 3. Nick Halfhide wrote this paper, with input from John Kerr and Richard Davison, and sponsors it. Background 4. The Board considered a paper in May 2015 on SNH’s Landholding Review. Members approved the principles for SNH acquiring, holding and disposing of land and requested that the policy context around community empowerment and land reform be reflected more clearly in the presentation of the principles. Members further agreed that the Protected Areas Committee should scrutinise any proposed disposals on behalf of the Board. 5. Following the Board’s consideration, staff then assessed all 40 SNH owned or leased properties against these principles. As agreed by MT, the review did not cover SNH’s office portfolio, nor did it include land managed under a Nature Reserve Agreement. During the review, we added the possibility of setting up Starter Farm Units on SNH land following a request from Scottish Government to all public land owners. 6. In November 2015, MT considered the detailed outcome of this assessment and approved in principle that we no longer had a strong corporate need for approximately 6,000 ha of our current holdings of 43,000 ha. MT recommended close liaison with Sponsor Team and RAFE partners on the approach to the process; and that we further refine our approach to handling the transfer of this land based on risk, cost and benefit management, and community interest. MT recognised that this further analysis would not happen until 16/17 due to other priorities. 1 7. Initial discussions took place with Scottish Government officials in early 2016 but further engagement was postponed until after the election. Discussions then took place over the summer, and officials recommended that we engage with the Cabinet Secretary as she would wish to be sighted on our overall approach, and may wish to take a role with individual sites. 8. In the interim, some progress has been made on two sites where discussions were already on going. 9. The final draft of the Rural Asset Land Management Plan is contained at Annex 1. It emphasises our commitment to community empowerment on land that we own and manage, and where we see particular opportunities for other to maximise the delivery of public benefits. 10. We expect further community engagement to develop from our existing contacts at a local level. However, we are developing processes to respond to asset transfer requests and participation requests should groups wish to go down this statutory route. These processes will be based on guidance to be issued soon by the Scottish Government and will be in place for when the relevant parts of the Community Empowerment Act come into force, which is anticipated to be early in 2017. Next Steps 11. Assuming the Board are content with the Plan, I would recommend that the Chairman write to the Cabinet Secretary seeking her support. This would be an opportunity to set out our response to the community empowerment and land reform agendas, in particular those sites where we think others could significantly improve the public benefits from the land. 12. We should also offer to keep her informed of progress of individual cases of transfer of ownership and to seek her views on those that are likely to be contentious. Author: Nick Halfhide Date: November 2016 Contact Details: [email protected] 2 Annex 1 SNH Rural Land Asset Management Plan Introduction This plan describes the land that we own and lease, and how we manage it. It sets out the reasons for our continued ownership of land as well as how we will decide to buy or sell land in the future. Our Purpose Our core purposes as set out in law1 are to: - secure the conservation and enhancement of nature and landscapes - foster their understanding and facilitate their enjoyment - promote their sustainable use and management We achieve these purposes in a number of ways, including by managing land for its nature and landscape and to promote public enjoyment. This helps us deliver the Scottish Government’s priorities, particularly those aimed at maintaining and improving natural assets and improving health and wellbeing by connecting people with nature. Our medium-term plans for 2015-18 are set out in our Corporate Plan, with shorter- term priorities set out in the annual business plan. Our experience of hands-on land management also benefits other aspects of our work, such as advising land managers on positive management of their land. Our Land We currently own 35,500ha and lease 7,500ha of land. The names of our landholdings, their broad location, the number of hectares we own or lease at each site, and their main future use are shown in Annex 1. Further details on the location and boundary of each site are available from the SNH website. We recognise that supporting community land ownership and community empowerment is an increasingly important priority for the Scottish Government. We will support any community who expresses an interest in managing or owning land that we currently hold. Our Board has agreed that our future ownership and leasing of land will be guided by the following principles: SNH will retain or acquire land for the following purposes 1 SNH was established under the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991, in which our core purposes and functions are set out. 3 For natural heritage management of land, including National Nature Reserves and nature reserves For operational management of SNH-owned land For research and experimental management For management to provide ecosystem services or improvement projects For specialised management, including uneconomic management in compliance with the SSSI Financial Guidelines requirements For landscape, recreation and access SNH will transfer land that Another body could own and manage more effectively and efficiently: it is anticipated that community bodies could have a higher profile in NNR management. Is required for developments of national importance (i.e. road improvements) Does not meet the requirements for retention described above. Our Management We manage most of our land for long-term nature conservation. The national and international importance of the nature and landscape on these sites is recognised through one or more statutory nature conservation designation. We aim to have all our land in good conservation condition. Many of our reserves have achieved the National Nature Reserve (NNR) accolade. This accolade is applied to land and water of acknowledged national importance for nature that is being managed to agreed high standards and for people to enjoy it. We work with local communities and neighbouring land managers to secure wider public benefits from the land we own and lease. In response to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, we will be looking to engage with communities at the earliest possible stage in thinking about outcomes and management objectives for each landholding. All our land is open for public access. Facilities are most developed on our National Nature Reserves. More details can be found on the NNR website. We have written management plans for each of our NNRs, available on the NNR website. These set out the aims and objectives for management, and planned work over a 10 year period. Each site is managed on a day-to-day level by staff based in one of our local offices, and overseen by one of our Area Managers. Funds for capital and operational work linked to each site’s management plan are allocated centrally from SNH’s block grant, based on organisation-wide priorities, needs and available resources. Corporate and operational risk is assessed as part of the bidding process for allocating funds. Site managers can seek additional funds to cover unforeseen events. We also seek to use other external funding for capital projects such as the development of visitor centres. 4 Monitoring Our Performance We have a planning and reporting tool that allows us to monitor progress towards achieving objectives within each management plan. This allows us to gather and report statistics relating to our land, such as visitor numbers and events. This helps us analyse change and target resources. We currently monitor the condition of protected natural features on our land as part of the Site Condition Monitoring (SCM) programme. Our Future Plans SNH is a major public landowner in Scotland, and is committed to achieving the aims of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 towards greater community engagement in land management decisions. We also have the potential to contribute to achieving the Scottish Government’s target of 1 million acres of land in community ownership by 2020. We regularly keep our landholdings under review. We carried out a major assessment of our land in 2015. This identified a number of areas where the transfer of ownership or management has the greatest potential to maximise public benefit over the next 5 years: Achanarras Quarry Keen of Hamar Ben Lui Kirkconnel Flow Braehead Moss Loch Druidibeg Claish Moss Rannoch Moor Cragbank Woods Rhynie Chert Dunnet Forest land at Gatehouse Croft Sunart Glencripesdale, Dell Woods Abernethy Jock’s Gill Wood land at Glen Tanar We also identified some areas of land at Anancaun (part of our land at Beinn Eighe), Creag Meagaidh, Cairnsmore of Fleet, and on Rum which may be suitable as starter farm units.

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