Why Scotland must act now
Land shapes almost every major policy ambition Scotland has: housing, economic resilience, climate action, nature recovery and community wellbeing. Yet the way land is owned and governed is not keeping pace with these demands.
Scotland continues to have one of the most concentrated patterns of land ownership in the world. High land prices and limited supply shut many people, businesses, and communities out. Decisions about land use are often distant and difficult to influence. Derelict and underused land blights places despite clear potential for change.
These are not abstract concerns. They are practical barriers to delivering homes, jobs, climate action and thriving places. International experience shows these challenges are not inevitable.
Other countries routinely intervene to open up land opportunities, regulate the power that flows from ownership, and empower local decision-making. Scotland now needs to do the same.
