Report from the Land Share discussion group
Led by Sharon Pollitt
In the UK there are approximately 60 million acres of land suitable for agriculture and approximately 65 million people, almost an acre for each and every one of us. However 90% of the land is owned by 10% of the population with many owning none at all. To quote Marcus Brigstock, in his TV investigation of land ownership in this country, “I want my acre!”. For those that want to know, an acre is 0.4 hectare, which is an area 40x100m.
Sharon has been working locally towards the idea of communally-owned land to address this problem and some of her work can be seen at
www.landroots.co.uk. Please note that a new website is under development for release in the near future. A few types of communal land ownership or involvement were discussed such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), woodsforall, Fordhall Farm (bought after a fundraising campaign), and local authority owned farms.
The central idea of buying land would be individual shares of approximately £250. A thousand shares would raise £250,000. Incidentally, £250 is £5/week for 1 year. which is a possible model of how a small interest in land could be bought by those on low incomes. One participant also thought that shares may be bought as significant presents or bequeathed to friends or relatives.
Land varies wildly in price but £250,000 would purchase as little as 20 acres of agricultural land or as much as 200 depending on its location and quality. If for example a landshare scheme was promoted in Nottingham then land would be sought on the outskirts of the city. Does anyone know approximate land values on the outskirts of Nottingham? This would be land only for agricultural purposes with no permission for building. However it would be possible to hold certain events on the land, such as a festival, for a number of days each year. This is often limited to 28 days per year.
Usage of any land communally owned would be controlled by legal means to only sustainable land use models. It is possible that the land could be looked after by a tenant farmer or housing/workers co-op (perhaps supplying products to a community supported agriculture scheme). It would be possible to encourage an active relationship between the land and the shareholders.
A big question is, why co-own land? Well, they’re not making any more of it and people care about something that they have an interest in. Most of us have also become detached from the processes of land management and food production and a share in land may be the best and most enjoyable education they will ever get.
Our thanks to Sharon for inspiring the discussion.
