There have been several press reports lately that the SNP-led Scottish Executive has “sold off” 44,000 acres of forest since 2007 for a reported £28 million profit. This is despite a successful campaign two years ago to stop a privatisation proposal.
Any sales (re-provisioning) are supposed to be about selling off land that is not profitable with the purchase price used to buy more profitable areas elsewhere. During this period they’ve only purchased 18,000 acres resulting in a net loss of 26,000 acres.
Among the forests recently put up for sale are Glen Shira in Argyll (in the heart of the most productive forestry area in Scotland), which has been put on the market for £6.5 million, and Kepranich in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, for £1.1 million.
These sales are evidence the SNP are up to their old tricks again, selling off Scotland’s forests by the back door. There are also serious questions about the handling of the sale as they appear to be holding back the completion of these sales for what seems to be political reasons. It looks like they want to hide them until after the forthcoming election.
