Vexed question of whose land is it anyway?
In Shropshire we are blessed with wonderful countryside producing delicious food, renewable energy, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitats and an environment that is delightful to live in or visit.
Farmers know more than anyone that all this doesn't happen naturally. Our land has been owned and managed over generations, but it often seems that others have strong ideas about what you should do with your land.
Of course it is still legal to own land and property and, within reason, be able to do with it as you wish. My role with the CLA revolves around not just protecting those rights for all landowners, but also being alert to threats on the horizon.
They have always done things differently in Scotland, and anyone who owns land, or enjoys sporting rights should keep a close eye on developments north of the border.
Their proposals for land reform are based on a number of principles, the first, somewhat vague, is that the ownership and use of land should be in the public interest and contribute to the collective benefit of the people in Scotland.
The potential implications will be of major concern to anyone who owns or manages rural land in Scotland, and rightly so. But not all legislation in Scotland stops at the border forever, so I would urge Shropshire landowners to keep a close eye on developments.
There are many areas of concern, not just for landowners, but for farming families and sporting estates. For example the Scottish government wants the power to break up large holdings where the scale or pattern of land ownership in an area, and the conduct of a landowner is "acting as a barrier to sustainable development", however that may be defined.
Proposals also include plans for local communities to be given the opportunity to own buildings and land which contribute to their community's wellbeing and future development, taking the concept of "community assets" a step further, and possibly having the opposite effect on a landowner's goodwill to that intended.
Shropshire farmers should not be too concerned at the moment, but neither should we be complacent. But we can at least be thankful there are organisations in this country with their best interests at heart, protecting their rights so that farmers can continue to farm and plan for the next generation.
By Caroline Bedell, regional director of the CLA in the Midlands
