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Feasibility Report on proposed
crofting community buyout of the Galson Estate

The following material is a copy of a Feasibility Study commissioned by the Galson Estate Buyout Steering Group, which aims to examine the potential for crofting community ownership of the privately owned 56,000 Galson Estate in the Isle of Lewis.

In the event of crofters and residents within the Galson Estate electing to purchase the estate, it is hoped that the community and the current landowners can come to an amicable arrangement to transfer ownership at an agreed and fair price. Where this cannot be achieved, residents and crofters may choose to pursue a Crofting Community Buyout of the estate under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, where the Act "creates circumstances in which a crofting community body representing a particular crofting community may be permitted to oblige a landowner to sell to it croft land associated with that crofting community."

	Location Map	Isle of Lewis
	" "	Galson Estate Townships & Grazings
	" "	Interactive Map

The 56,000 acre estate encompasses the 20 crofting townships of:

Upper Barvas, Balantrushal and Upper Shader, Lower Shader, Borve, High Borve, Galson, South Dell, North Dell, Cross, Swainbost, Habost, Lionel, Port of Ness, Fivepenny, Eoropie, Knockaird, Eorodale, Adabrock, Skigersta.

FEASIBILITY STUDY
POTENTIAL FOR CROFTING COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

SUMMARY

Strutt & Parker and associated advisers Johnston Carmichael were instructed by the Galson Estate Steering Group to prepare a feasibility study into the potential for a community purchase of Galson Estate, Isle of Lewis.

The aim of the study was to identify the economic, social and environmental potential of the Estate. The two key components of this were an in depth analysis of the existing Estate assets and business and the opportunities it presents and a wide ranging community based review and assessment of the communities requirements from and development opportunities for the Estate.

The report details in turn a description of the Estate, a review of the development options, a financial analysis of the existing business and the development options and the wider economic impact of the options identified. The report finishes with a review of the management options for community ownership and concluding recommendations.

The Estate extends to around 22,260ha in the north west of Lewis. The majority of the ground is crofted (over 600 crofts) rough grazing of relatively flat aspect. The Estate is rich in wildlife. The area is relatively highly populated in the western coastal areas with a moderate diversity of local economic activity with some Stornoway commuting. The Estate includes no built assets but has a number of leases of sites. The Estate is owned by a limited company, Galson Estate Ltd and there is currently a proposal for a windfarm over a proportion of the Estate (which has been specifically disregarded as part of this study).

The development options identified were grouped under the headings of residential, commercial, sporting, environmental, tourism, agriculture & aquaculture, forestry and renewable energy. In assessing these against the objective of adding viability to the Estate and providing wider community benefits, the prioritised options were determined as – 1. environmental projects; 2. sporting development; 3. housing projects; 4. commercial opportunities and; 5. tourism.

The analysis of the current Estate business showed a modest and relatively inactive operation with an annual turnover of around £22,000 against modest costs, mostly associated with administration. The business is considered relatively stable and low risk and is projected to continue at similar levels in the short term with a gradual erosion of margin over the medium to long term.

Through a community workshop and subsequent analysis the prioritised development options were built on to prepare more specific and costed proposals. Implementing the full range of options could increase turnover to around £95,000 after a three year programme of development, with the business margin rising to over £30,000. The broad range of options developed to achieve this would create a business with modest risk exposure and wide ranging community benefits (including 10 direct and 2 indirect jobs).

The report concludes with a brief review of management options for a community body, suggesting allocating specific areas of responsibility within the management structure and the necessity of proactive facilitation/management, and an opinion on the viability of the Estate operating under community ownership. It is concluded that Galson Estate can be a viable business under community ownership and that while a number of the potential benefits highlighted are unaffected by ownership, community ownership has the potential to actively release economic and social benefits that may otherwise be constrained.

CONTENTS		PAGE

SUMMARY		1

1.0 INTRODUCTION		3

2.0 ESTATE DESCRIPTION		4
2.1	Location	4
2.2	Land Tenure	4
2.3	Land Capability	6
2.4	Topography	6
2.5	Climate	6
2.6	Environmental & Landscape Designations	7
2.7	Archaeological & Historical Features	7
2.8	Wildlife & Conservation	7
2.9	Sportings	8
2.10	Local Plans and Planning Designations	8
2.11	Wind Farm Proposals	9
2.12	Current ownership and management structure	10
2.13	Other Estate Assets	10

3.0 DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS		11
3.1	Residential	11
3.2	Commercial	13
3.3	Sporting	15
3.4	Environmental	18
3.5	Tourism	19
3.6	Agriculture & Aquaculture	24
3.7	Forestry	24
3.8	Renewable energy	25
3.9	Prioritised Development Options	25

4.0 BUSINESS ANALYSIS		26
4.1	Income & Expenditure of current Estate Business	26
4.2	Viability of the medium and long term existing Estate Business	26
4.3	Viability of Estate business incorporating development options	30
4.4	Wider economic impact	39

5.0 COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS		41

6.0 CONCLUSION		42

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Strutt & Parker were instructed in December 2003 to undertake a feasibility study into the potential for community ownership of the Galson Estate, Isle of Lewis. Our instruction was included in an email from Neil Finlayson on behalf of the Galson Estate Community Steering Group on 17 December 2004.

The overall aim of the study is to identify the economic, social and environmental potential of the estate. Within this aim are a number of specific objectives:

To assess the financial performance and management status of the existing estate activities
To collate and assess development opportunities
To assess the opportunities for securing existing jobs and enhancing employment prospects
To provide management and financial projections for a number of future ownership and development scenarios
To assess the available funding options
To assess the economic impact of the range of options for Lewis and the wider Western Isles economy
To assess the overall viability of the current activities and developed / restructured activities

The report addresses these objectives in turn, following a description of the Estate’s assets, under the headings of development options, business analysis and ownership and management options. The report concludes with some recommendations on the viability of a community purchase.

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