and promotes the interests of crofting in Scotland
to secure the future of crofting.
Crofting One-Stop Shop a Success
10/11/2015
Over 200 crofters attended the recent Crofting Roadshows, organised by the Crofting Commission and working in partnership with SAC Consulting, Scottish Crofting Federation and Registers of Scotland.
Six roadshows were held across the crofting counties over the last six weeks providing crofters with a one-stop shop to discuss crofting issues. The meetings were open for anyone to attend and consisted of a short talk on key crofting issues and ended with a question and answer session where the public put questions to the organisations present which also included Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate.
Crofting Commission Chief Executive Catriona Maclean said:
“The roadshows have been a great opportunity to meet with crofters to talk about the changes currently happening within the Crofting Commission, answer questions and listen to how we can help crofters.
“This included discussing the change in the role of the Assessor. We value the input of Assessors and we are committed to maintaining the current network of 89 Assessors so as many crofting communities as possible are represented and supported.
“While Assessors will no longer be asked to provide input to regulatory applications their role will be more focussed on providing support and guidance to crofters. This will minimise the risk to Assessors of potential conflicts of interest and the possibility of being called to give evidence at the Scottish Land Court about regulatory applications”
Rhona Elrick at Registers of Scotland commented:
“The Crofting Roadshows have been extremely beneficial for Registers of Scotland. We have welcomed the opportunity to further engage with crofters and we continue to work with the Crofting Commission and other key stakeholders to highlight the benefits of the Crofting Register”
Chief Executive of the Scottish Crofting Federation, Patrick Krause, added, “We are very pleased with how well the format worked. Having the main crofting representatives and service providers together in a room full of crofters gives the opportunity for discussion of real concerns, with the intention to improve provision. The feedback we have received is that crofters want more of these meetings and in other crofting areas too. We look forward to doing this.”
Siobhan Macdonald, Senior Agriculture Consultant, SAC Consulting Services said:
“We were delighted to join the roadshow – it was a great opportunity to take our vast range of expertise directly to the crofting counties. The roadshows allowed our network of local offices and consultants to share their knowledge and advice. Our consultants work daily to assist crofters and grazing’s committees with improving technical performance and navigating grants and subsidies available to them."
