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NOF is to allocate an extra £5m to its controversial Scottish Land Fund to help rural communities purchase or develop land or buildings. The scheme, delegated to Highlands and Islands Enterprise to run, helped the people of Gigha to buy the island last year with a £3.5m grant which attracted praise and opprobrium in equal measure.

NOF Scotland has just produced a review of the land fund scheme to date. It has made 96 awards since its launch in February 2001, and has spent £8.6m of its original £10m allocation. The review reports that:

• 89 grants have been made to rural communities interested in land initiatives
  
• 33 awards have been made for groups wanting technical assistance, usually for a feasibility study to consider a buyout
  
• 45 grants were for acquisition projects, ranging from buying an island to buying a football pitch
  
• 11 awards were for post-acquisition development or management.
  

With 445 eligible inquiries to date, it is highly likely the funds will run out ahead of the scheme’s formal closing date of 2007, even with the extra cash injection. Demand may well increase now that the Land Reform Act is in place, giving local people rights to express an interest and mobilise funding support when their landowners seek a sale.

The Scottish Land Fund Programme Review can be downloaded (pdf) from www.nof.org.uk/index.cfm?loc=env&in c=gssc_scotland