A picture-perfect Hebridean island
December 4, 2018 1:49 PM Subscribe
Scottish islanders are buying out their lairds (The Economist)
Tiny island of Ulva passes into hands of local community
In the (...) short film Land Reform, they explore objects that document community buyouts in the islands of Eigg and Ulva
Meet The Island Communities Fighting Back Against Wealthy, Absent Landlords
Just off Scotland, a tiny island with one main road is a testament to human independence
Tiny island of Ulva passes into hands of local community
In the (...) short film Land Reform, they explore objects that document community buyouts in the islands of Eigg and Ulva
Meet The Island Communities Fighting Back Against Wealthy, Absent Landlords
Just off Scotland, a tiny island with one main road is a testament to human independence
Half the country’s private land is owned by fewer than 500 people.
Very few of whom are Scots, I'd wager.
These reforms are awesome and long overdue.
posted by rocket88 at 2:20 PM on December 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Very few of whom are Scots, I'd wager.
These reforms are awesome and long overdue.
posted by rocket88 at 2:20 PM on December 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Not only the islands - the first urban community buy-out took place in Edinburgh a couple of years ago at the Bellfield - formerly a church, now a community centre. Myself and a group of friends are in the middle of planning a memorial for a pal who died a couple of months ago and expressly asked that we remember him at the Bellfield, and his wish is our command.
posted by penguin pie at 3:00 PM on December 4, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by penguin pie at 3:00 PM on December 4, 2018 [12 favorites]
Ulva will be free!
Seriously, this is really cool. Some of my ancestors were from Ulva, and I've always felt a connection, although the closest I ever got was Mull, when I visited Lachlan Macquarie's grave.
posted by Mogur at 4:04 PM on December 4, 2018
Seriously, this is really cool. Some of my ancestors were from Ulva, and I've always felt a connection, although the closest I ever got was Mull, when I visited Lachlan Macquarie's grave.
posted by Mogur at 4:04 PM on December 4, 2018
And isn't the snarky tone of the article exactly what you expect from "The Economist" - "swapping the landlord for Holyrood"
a more positive take from LRB https://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n08/kathleen-jamie/in-fife
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 7:29 PM on December 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
a more positive take from LRB https://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n08/kathleen-jamie/in-fife
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 7:29 PM on December 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
But wait...if they're buying out the lairds, then who will lead the procession to the more dreadful sacrifice?
posted by Katemonkey at 1:49 AM on December 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Katemonkey at 1:49 AM on December 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
But it doesn't really matter, because these places should be open for anyone who desires that lifestyle and wishes to pitch in.
Being a Scot is a lot more open than, say, being English; Scotland goes in for civic nationalism rather than ethnic/blood-based nationalism, so once you live there as a citizen and subscribe to Scottish civic values, you are a Scot, regardless of whether or not you have Scottish ancestry/heritage. (And let's not even mention clans/tartans, as that's largely a Romantic-era sentimental myth, fleshed out some 50 years after the highland clearances.) In contrast, as far as Englishness goes, the impression I got (as an Australian immigrant and naturalised British citizen) was that “British” is the one you can become but “English” is what you are if your roots stem from England.
posted by acb at 2:12 AM on December 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
Being a Scot is a lot more open than, say, being English; Scotland goes in for civic nationalism rather than ethnic/blood-based nationalism, so once you live there as a citizen and subscribe to Scottish civic values, you are a Scot, regardless of whether or not you have Scottish ancestry/heritage. (And let's not even mention clans/tartans, as that's largely a Romantic-era sentimental myth, fleshed out some 50 years after the highland clearances.) In contrast, as far as Englishness goes, the impression I got (as an Australian immigrant and naturalised British citizen) was that “British” is the one you can become but “English” is what you are if your roots stem from England.
posted by acb at 2:12 AM on December 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
Very few of whom are Scots, I'd wager.
Increasingly few these days - a lot of foreign investors buying up land. But it wasn’t really better back when most of them were from old Scottish families, either (see eg: the Clearances, or the land raids of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as forerunner to the land reform movement today).
So much of the land owned by the biggest landlords is in vast, mostly-empty estates in rural areas, and so there’s this perception that it doesn’t really matter because nobody can use that land anyway. It is worth remembering when that one comes up that the emptiness is largely artificial, often created for sheep and (these days) for deer/grouse shooting. Ulva had 800+ inhabitants once; now it has, what, 11?
posted by Catseye at 3:12 AM on December 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
Increasingly few these days - a lot of foreign investors buying up land. But it wasn’t really better back when most of them were from old Scottish families, either (see eg: the Clearances, or the land raids of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as forerunner to the land reform movement today).
So much of the land owned by the biggest landlords is in vast, mostly-empty estates in rural areas, and so there’s this perception that it doesn’t really matter because nobody can use that land anyway. It is worth remembering when that one comes up that the emptiness is largely artificial, often created for sheep and (these days) for deer/grouse shooting. Ulva had 800+ inhabitants once; now it has, what, 11?
posted by Catseye at 3:12 AM on December 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
It is interesting to visit some of the places which have been subject to community buy-outs and to compare them with those still dominated by a large landowner - for example I have been on the remote peninsular of Knoydart recently (community owned since 1997) - and on the land near Lochinver, bought by the Assynt Foundation in 2005. Both of these communities seem like rather positive places - with people willing to get through the necessary disputes and arguments in return for the reward of seeing the place gradually improve. The idea that the highlands were a part of the world where the large scale raising of grouse, deer and sheep should over-ride the modest ambitions of small business and crofters - is still one which holds sway in much of the region, however.
posted by rongorongo at 5:56 AM on December 5, 2018
posted by rongorongo at 5:56 AM on December 5, 2018
Oh, and if anyone wants a good read on land ownership and reform in Scotland, I recommend Andy Wightman’s The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland And How They Got It.
(Andy Wightman is now Andy Wightman MSP, and one of the Scottish parliamentarians who brought the recent case on whether the U.K. can unilaterally revoke Article 50. He’s done some interesting stuff recently on housing in tourist-focused cities, and what AirBnB models of tourist lets are doing to that.)
posted by Catseye at 6:00 AM on December 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
(Andy Wightman is now Andy Wightman MSP, and one of the Scottish parliamentarians who brought the recent case on whether the U.K. can unilaterally revoke Article 50. He’s done some interesting stuff recently on housing in tourist-focused cities, and what AirBnB models of tourist lets are doing to that.)
posted by Catseye at 6:00 AM on December 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
Scotland goes in for civic nationalism rather than ethnic/blood-based nationalism, so once you live there as a citizen and subscribe to Scottish civic values, you are a Scot, regardless of whether or not you have Scottish ancestry/heritage.
I've heard this before so I assume it's true in certain (perhaps cosmopolitan?) parts of Scotland, but growing up in a rural area I was firmly labelled as non-Scottish and ostracised. My parents spent forty years participating in community life, but were always regarded as outsiders.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:29 AM on December 7, 2018
I've heard this before so I assume it's true in certain (perhaps cosmopolitan?) parts of Scotland, but growing up in a rural area I was firmly labelled as non-Scottish and ostracised. My parents spent forty years participating in community life, but were always regarded as outsiders.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:29 AM on December 7, 2018
« Older Nothing could be finer than North Carolina... | “Silflay hraka, u embleer rah!” Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Community Right to Buy is pretty awesome compared to what used to be. Basically, it used to be almost impossible for locals to own the land they lived upon. Thanks, Colonialism!
posted by scruss at 2:15 PM on December 4, 2018 [5 favorites]