Leanne Gordon, Partner and Head of our Rural – Land & Business team believes landowners would be wise to start planning for how legal changes could influence the way in which they plan for the future, and that considering community engagement as a key plan could help in the long run.
There are steps that can be taken by landowners in order to be ready for new measures contained in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. Among them will be a requirement to create a publicly available Land Management Plan - and to be able to demonstrate that the surrounding community has been involved in its creation.
The requirement for a Land Management Plan will affect landholdings of 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) or more. Failure to comply with this could result in a fine of up to £40,000.
While the timetable for the Bill’s implementation is not yet clear, our team are supporting landowners and farmers to help them begin planning for change.
Leanne said: “With the myriad of changes affecting landowners and farmers currently, business planning is a key issue.
“There are a number of requirements set out in the Bill for the content of the publicly available Land Management Plan. If landowners are, therefore, considering what the coming few years looks like, they are as well looking at how their creation fits into wider planning.
“Specifically, it is worth early consideration about how they would engage the community in the creation of their plan which is one of the key requirements.
“Rural estates in particular are key parts of communities. Many already work with those who neighbour them in numerous ways. The upcoming changes, though, make that a formal process when it comes to land management.”
As well as requiring community engagement in the development of Land Management Plans, any changes to them would also require engagement. The Bill states that plans will need to be reviewed - and revised, where necessary - every five years.
As well as single land holdings covering 1,000 hectares or above, the plan requirement will also cover contiguous holdings of neighbouring land under the same ownership. This means that farms which have grown through the acquisition of neighbouring separate holdings, for example, will also be included.
The Land Reform Bill was passed by MSPs in November 2025 following three days of debate which saw almost 400 amendments to it lodged. It includes new measures around the sale of transfer of landholdings larger than 1,000 hectares.
Leanne added: “These changes will have an impact on rural businesses. To help manage these, it’s important for landowners to plan ahead - where they can - for what we know is coming. Thinking about how you engage the community in creating a Land Management Plan is one example of how that work can start.”
The new legislation will also lead to the creation of a Land and Community Commissioner to oversee many of its aims.
Published 2 February 2026
