Two recent decisions by the Scottish Land Court (“SLC”) provide guidance on two distinct areas of crofting law: objections to development schemes and grounds for applications for the removal of a crofter. These cases are of interest to developers seeking to work in crofting areas and to landowners respectively.
In Coigach Wind Power Limited v Achiltibuie Common Grazings Shareholders & Others, the SLC found that “interested persons”, for the purpose of objecting to a development scheme application on an area of common grazing, are “member[s] of the crofting community in the area affected by the development”.
In Thrumster Estate Ltd v Mindt, the SLC found that the discharge of a formerly insolvent crofter was not decisive to the outcome of an application by the landlord to remove them on the basis of their insolvency. Instead, it was a factor for the SLC to consider in the exercise of its discretion.
