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The Land Problem - Public
Questions, Religion and Morals Report
Free Church of Scotland, 1997
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In this abstract from the Church's 1997 Public Questions, Religion and
Morals Report a case is made that there is still a 'land problem' in
Scotland. It arises partly because of misguided attempts at securing
employment, forestry and agricultural productivity during the last 50-years
in the remoter parts, but principally because of the landholding structure
which has prevailed there for many generations.
While the solution to the problem has taxed many wise heads in the past, it
would seem that the basic difficulty lies not in identifying the remedy but
in summoning up the political will to carry it through. A Biblical
perspective would suggest that rural land should cease to be treated as a
commodity and should be regarded as a trust, placing upon the landholders an
obligation to realise its potential - in every sense, whether environmental,
human or economic.
The paper concludes by the Church calling upon the Government to seek
remedies by way of widening land ownership, promoting good stewardship, and
devolving responsibility for local land management policy to local
communities.
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