The Scottish Land Commission is a non-departmental public body established on 1 April 2017.
The Commission has five Land Commissioners and one Tenant Farming Commissioner, all appointed by Scottish Ministers.
The organisation is based in Inverness and has a team of 17 staff led by Chief Executive Hamish Trench.
Andrew has over thirty years of experience in leadership roles in the public, private and third sectors. He coordinated the work of the Agricultural Holdings Legislation Review in 2014. His previous public sector roles have included Crofters Commissioner, Chair of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Chair of Scottish Natural Heritage, and until 2022 Chair of Scottish Canals.
Bob is a retired public servant with extensive experience in public policy, in particular in land management and forestry, Bob was the Scottish Government Director for Environment and Forestry between 2012 and 2015, and before that served as the Director of Forestry Commission Scotland and in many other roles in the Forestry Commission. He was a partner in a 650-acre hill farm for 15 years. He was until recently a Board Member of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
tfc@landcommission.gov.scot
01463 423 300
Sally is an Agricultural Consultant (with a PhD in mathematical ecology); she is currently working within the Community Land Sector as Development Officer with Carloway Estate Trust (Urras Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh). An active crofter and livestock keeper, she contributes to a number of activities which benefit the community. She currently coordinates the Lewis and Harris Greylag Goose Management Scheme on behalf of SNH.
Lorne has had an interest, and involvement, in land reform for many years. He was a founding director and, latterly, was the Chairman of Community Land Scotland, and has been a director of the community land buyout groups in Eriskay, South Uist & Benbecula, and the Isle of Gigha. He was Highlands & Islands Enterprise’s first Director of Strengthening Communities, and prior to that was Chief Executive of Skye & Lochalsh Enterprise. He is a chartered accountant, and director of a retail and distribution business in the Isle of Skye.
Megan has 20 years' experience working on land reform internationally, particularly throughout Southeast Asia, with community groups, NGOs, governments, international organisations and large agribusiness companies. She has considerable expertise in protecting land rights, land management, community empowerment, natural resource governance and human rights. She grew up on Skye and is now part of a crofting family in Applecross, where she also works as a Local Development Officer for the Applecross Community Company.
David Adams is Emeritus Professor in Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow. A Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, David was previously an adviser to the Land Reform Review Group and has researched and published widely on urban land problems.
Hamish is Chief Executive and accountable officer of the Scottish Land Commission. He is a former chartered surveyor with experience of land use policy, management and research in the public and private sectors. His previous roles include director posts at the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Deer Commission for Scotland, and working for a national firm of property consultants. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
Tel: 01463 423 300
Emma is responsible for the Land Commission’s work shaping change on the ground to ensure more people benefit from Scotland’s land by supporting the practical implementation of the Scottish Government’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS).
Tel: 01463 423 308
Gemma Campbell is the Commission’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Manager, and focusses on helping people to embed responsible land ownership, use and management in practice. She manages a programme of engagement, guidance and advice that supports key stakeholders across all sectors to strengthen their adoption of Land Rights and Responsibilities principles in their strategy and delivery.
Te: 01463 423 318
As a Good Practice Adviser, Karen works across sectors to help embed principles of fairness, transparency, balance and opportunity into land use and land use decision-making in Scotland. This includes offering support in the form of training, advice and guidance, and working with individuals and organisations to increase understanding and alignment with the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement.
Tel: 01463 423 314
Lisa collaborates with colleagues across the Scottish Land Commission to design and deliver their impactful programme of training, resources, and support. Her work is shaped and informed by her teaching and learning experiences as a university lecturer, in youth work, and community arts.
Tel: 01463 423 315
Alex is a Good Practice Advisor, and works to help embed the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement across different sectors. This involves offering advice and support through the Commission’s person-to-person casework service, helping develop written guidance, and delivering workshops to help individuals and organisations align how land is owned, managed, and used with the Commission’s Good Practice principles of transparency, opportunity, fairness, and diversity in land ownership.
Tel: 07763615968
David’s main areas of work are on land, housing and place. His remit at the Scottish Land Commission includes work on land assembly, placemaking, and housing land markets.
David joined the Commission from the SFHA, where he led on new build affordable housing, planning reform, energy efficiency and regeneration. Prior to that he worked for housing associations and for Edinburgh City Council on housing and regeneration.
He is a board member of Rural Housing Scotland and was previously on the board of PAS, the planning and place charity, and a community based housing association in Greenock.
Tel: 01463 423 317
James leads the Commission’s work around land and human rights, governance, and ownership. This touches upon a range of land reform issues from developing policy and legislative proposals to reform Scotland’s land market, to articulating the nature of carbon rights and what ownership means, to modernising the Common Good property regime, to improving access to land for new entrants to agriculture. James hails from a family farming background and brings broad experience from the private, public, and third sectors to his role.
Tel: 01463 423 306
Bruce is based within the policy team and performs a variety of assistive duties across the Commission, including administrative, organisational and project management-related responsibilities. As a modern apprentice, Bruce is working towards a diploma in Project Management, integrating his experience at the Commission with his studies.
Tel: 01463 423 312
Hanna leads on the Commission’s delivery of high quality evidence and analysis by designing, conducting, and commissioning research on land reform. She previously worked as a senior researcher on land and housing for the New Economics Foundation.
Tel: 01463 423 316
Jess Barbier-Marsden joined the Commission in 2019 and has worked across the private and public sector. With a background in media and communications gained within local government and the MOD, Jess is responsible for delivering the Commission’s communications strategy including social media.
Te: 01463 423 313
Sara is responsible for supporting the delivery of successful external and internal engagement and communications including building the reputation and increasing the profile of the Commission and the role of land reform in contributing to Scotland's success.
Tel: 01463 423 310
Caron is responsible for managing and supporting the Commission’s business functions. Providing support and guidance to the organisation in HR, employee wellbeing, Data Protection, FOI, information management and board secretariat.
Tel: 01463 423 301
Claire is responsible for managing and supporting the Commission’s finance and business functions to support effective operational delivery and compliance. This includes co-ordination of internal and external audit, IT and Cyber security, and ensuring the commission has appropriate corporate governance policies in place to meet its duties as an NDPB.
Tel: 01463 423 302
Gilly is our Finance and Business Assistant. Her role is varied but the main purpose is to support the Commission’s finance and business functions to help effective operational delivery and compliance.
Tel: 01463 423 303
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© Scottish Land Commission 2023