Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser has claimed that SNP plans for land reform across Scotland are rooted in ideology and will cost local jobs in the area.
The Scottish Government unveiled their Land Reform Bill today, and it includes plans to force landowners to sell their land if Edinburgh-based ministers decide they are not using it in the way they wish.
Tax relief for sporting estates will also be brought to an end, something landowners have warned will jeopardise hundreds of countryside jobs.
Earlier in the year the Scottish Conservatives published alternative land reform proposals as part of a rural action plan.
Proposals included extending rural broadband, boosting affordable housing and working with owners to ensure land was best used for the local community.
Scottish Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said:
“These proposals once again demonstrate this central belt Scottish Government is out of touch with the priorities of rural communities.
“People living in rural parts of Perth and Kinross, Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire want to see a strong economy with more jobs, better broadband and improved local services. Instead, the SNP is ignoring the evidence and pursuing an ideologically-driven agenda which will jeopardise the rural economy.
“These proposals would lead to greater government interference in land ownership and an increase in the tax burden on rural businesses.
“The Scottish Government has been warned that this will cost jobs, but has ignored those warnings.
“The vast majority of privately-owned estates in Scotland are well-run, provide local jobs and many support community projects like affordable housing.
“The SNP would do well to recognise that.”