Buccleuch land buyout by community in southern Scotland receives boost

Buccleuch, one of Scotland's biggest landowners, has been seeking to sell land in southern Scotland for some time. Now two bids to take moorland  into community ownership have secured significant support. The Langholm Initiative and Newcastleton and District Community Trust (NDCT) is being given £1.85m to purchase the Buccleuch-owned land. An award of £1m from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) is going to the Langholm Initiative. They hope to buy more than 10,000 acres and plan to create a Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. NDCT will use its £850,000 grant to take ownership of 750 acres of land on the Tarras Water and Holmhill Estate.

The Scottish Land Fund is funded by the Scottish Government (Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba) and delivered in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It offers grants of up to £1 million to help communities take ownership of the land and buildings that matter to them, as well as practical support to develop projects. Buccleuch Estates, have expressed their pleasure that community organisations had secured funding for the purchase. Stating they support such community aspirations and were "fully committed" to working with local organisations. The Trust acknowledges that there needs to be further work undertaken in securing the rest of the funding it needs. However, the grant is a major boost.