Could Proposals On Compulsory Purchase Powers Raise New Concerns?

The Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in May 2017. Amendments to the Bill have been considered by the lead committee, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, culminating in an amended version of the Bill being published on 14 December. While there are no definite dates yet, it is envisaged that the final stage of the parliamentary process will commence imminently.

One of the main aims of the Bill is to transfer the powers currently held by the Forestry Commission, as a cross-border public authority, to the Scottish Ministers. If this is passed, the next step will be to issue an order to wind up the Forestry Commission as it currently exists in Scotland, and then put in place some form of collaborative cross-border arrangement with the Forestry Commission as it applies in England.

More controversially, the Bill also purports to expand the powers of the Scottish Ministers to purchase land compulsorily for the purposes of managing forestry land. In addition to the Scottish Ministers' compulsory purchase powers for the purpose of promoting sustainable forestry management, the Bill intends to expand those powers to include purchasing land for the purpose of furthering sustainable development.

Compulsory purchase of land - the proposals

A compulsory purchase order allows an organisation or a body, such as the Scottish Ministers, to acquire land without the landowner's express permission, where it is in the public interest, with compensation being paid to the landowner. Compulsory purchase of land for the purposes of managing forestry land is currently governed by the Forestry Act 1967. The Scottish Ministers' compulsory purchase powers have never been utilised under this Act in its 40 years of existence. If passed, the new legislation would repeal the 1967 Act.

Under section 16 of the proposed Bill, the Scottish Ministers would not only have the powers of compulsory purchase for the purposes of managing "forestry land in a way that promotes sustainable forest management", as already exists under the 1967 Act, but would also have the right to use those powers in order to manage "land... for the purpose of furthering the achievement of sustainable development".

Whilst the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (RECC) acknowledged the need for some level of compulsory purchase powers within the Bill to "unlock the potential in forestry land", it was felt by the majority of the RECC that...