A community-buyout in the South of Scotland has taken land from the Duke of Buccleuch, and pointed it towards rewilding

The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, from The National

A recent event run by our friends at Scotland’s Common Weal has reminded us of the exciting vitality of the community land movement in Scotland - taking advantage of Scottish national legislation to bring tangible power and resources to communities.

Speaking at the CW event was someone new to us, The Langholm Initiative. They’re recently celebrated completing the largest community buyout in the South of Scotland, raising £2.2M to double the size of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, to around 10,000 acres. A community right-to-buy in Scotland gives communities the chance to bid for private land, when it comes available, and the community actors are properly constituted (see this explanation of the law).

Langholm’s ambitions are generally under the headline of rewilding the area, but generating employment and educational opportunities for locals while doing so. They have benefitted both from a great acumen in raising money (both from small and large donations). And also, as their blog puts it, a congenial landowner (the Duke of Buccleugh) was willing to regard the Langholm Initiative as a serious contender for the land.

​As a development trust (read more on that in these pages), the Langholm Initiative has been pursuing development opportunities for its area since the early 90s, focusing on digital skills, eco-tourism and a revival of weaving skills (after the weaving industries in the area had closed down).

A great portal to see news of community buyouts like Langholm is the website Community Land Scotland, which has a regular blog update. This short film below shows how it’s working for community owned housing on the Isla Of Lewis: