Statement on Highlands Rewilding
We have welcomed the innovative approaches to community involvement that Highlands Rewilding has been able to take but the model of acquiring land at this pace and scale carries clear risks.
If the company now needs to sell land quickly it is important that local communities have meaningful time to consider purchase and influence the outcome, in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between Highlands Rewilding Ltd and the community at Tayvallich.
It is unlikely relying on open market sales will secure long term community interests. We support efforts to explore partnership approaches with the community, and these should aim to provide an opportunity for community acquisition free of restrictions on use.
The situation underscores the need for public land owners to be able to move quickly to acquire land temporarily where there is strong community interest but the pace of sales poses a challenge, and we believe this would be beneficial in this case.
