Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Land Reform Review Group membership expanded

The Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) membership is being expanded in a move that will broaden the range of expertise within the Group as they begin phase two of the review.

The existing members, Chair Alison Elliot, Vice Chair John Watt and Ian Cooke, will be joined by Pip Tabor, who has extensive experience of rural-development in the South of Scotland. Robin Callander has been appointed as a Special Adviser to the group. Robin has a wide knowledge relating to land ownership and management throughout Scotland.

The LRRG’s Advisers group has also been brought back up to its full thirteen members with the appointment of Malcolm Combe, a lecturer at the Rural Law Research Group, University of Aberdeen.

Environment and Climate Change Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “The Scottish Government is totally committed to land reform, which is why we set up the Land Reform Review Group. It is important to our future as a nation and to the future of our communities.

“I am pleased to announce the new appointments to the Land Reform Review Group. This additional expertise and capacity will greatly assist the Group as they begin phase two and develop recommendations for the final report.”

LRRG Chairperson, Dr. Alison Elliot said: ”These appointments strengthen the team considerably and I’m now looking forward to getting down to the detailed work of the next phase of the review.”

New member of the Group, Pip Tabor said: “I am delighted to be joining the LRRG and to be helping with the challenging task it has been given. I hope to be able to bring to the table some of the rural-development experience I have gained from working in Southern Scotland for the last 17 years. The land and the way we use it is fundamental  to all our lives, and the land reform debate is a fascinating one. I look forward to playing a role in the way the debate moves forward.”

The Group’s newly appointed Special Adviser, Robin Callander said: “Land reform in Scotland is a wide ranging and often complex topic. The Land Reform Review Group has a challenging remit to fulfil and I look forward to assisting the Group tackle the second phase of the work leading to its final report.”

New member of the LRRG’s Advisers group, Malcolm Combe said: “I am very happy to be able to accept the role of an adviser to the LRRG.  I have had a keen interest in Scots property law and land law reform since my days as an undergraduate law student.  I have already contributed to the work of the Group by way a response to the Call for Evidence and I now look forward to participating from within the Group’s advisory circle.”

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