Mridan » Travelogue Entry » End of the road for the lairds of the Isles as tenants take over

End of the road for the lairds of the Isles as tenants take over

ONCE they were a dominant force, but the laird is fast becoming an endangered species in the Western Isles.

From today more than half the Western Isles will be in public or community ownership and only one in four tenants will have a private landlord.

The latest in a series of community takeovers will be completed this morning when the 56,000-acre Galson Estate in Lewis officially passes into local control.

Galson has a population of 2,000, covering 22 villages and more than 600 crofts. The estate was once a candidate for Scotland’s first hostile takeover under crofting community right-to-buy legislation, before a deal was reached with the Graham family, who were the owners for 80 years.

Norman Thomson, chairman of the Galson Estate Trustees, said: “This is a great day for the people who live in the villages on Galson Estate. It is also an historic day for the whole of the Western Isles and for Scotland.

“The people of Galson are now in charge of our own affairs but we face big challenges. Jobs keep communities alive and Galson is no different. We will be seeking to attract new industries and support people with new ideas.”

Galson Estate, known as Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (UOG) in Gaelic, will be managed by ten trustees.

The trust has already started several projects, including a wind farm with between one and three turbines in one of the villages, and there are plans to develop green and cultural tourism.

The buyout means that 50.3 per cent of the Western Isles landmass is now in community or public ownership.

Prof Jim Hunter, a historian and land reform campaigner, said the changing pattern of ownership is significant, with

only two privately-owned estates in Skye. The remainder are now owned by public bodies, charities and communities.

Prof Hunter said: “In Skye and the Western Isles the private landlord is becoming a creature of the past. It’s extremely interesting and in relation to the history of the last 200 years it is a quite extraordinary development and, in my view, an extremely welcome one.”

Galson was bought for 600,000 with 510,000 coming from the Scottish Land Fund and 127,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Community fundraising and donations from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the John Muir Trust made up the balance.

This is the second largest community buyout after South Uist Estates, which was purchased by the community in December for 4.5 million with 2 million coming from both the Big Lottery Fund and HIE. The other contributions were made by SNH and the council.

South Uist had been owned since 1961 by a syndicate of nine families, who also agreed to sell to avoid a hostile takeover.