 | |
| Public corporation overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 April 2017 (2017-04-01) |
| PrecedingPublic corporation | |
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Headquarters | Quartermile Two, 2, Lister Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9GL |
| Minister responsible | |
| Public corporation executive |
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| Website | www |
Crown Estate Scotland (Scottish Gaelic:Oighreachd a' Chrùin Alba) is the self-financingpublic corporation of theScottish Government responsible for the management of land and property inScotland owned by themonarch 'in right ofthe Crown'. It was separated from theCrown Estate of the United Kingdom under theScotland Act 2016. It is responsible for a range of rural, coastal, urban and marine assets across Scotland. The monarch remains the legal owner of these assets, but they do not form the private property of the monarch, and cannot be sold by the monarch. The primary purpose of Crown Estate Scotland is to invest in property, natural resources, and places to create lasting value for the people of Scotland. Surplus revenue (i.e. revenue profit after maintaining and enhancing the value of the estate, as per theScottish Crown Estate Act 2019) does not belong to the monarch, but is paid to theScottish Consolidated Fund which in turn helps finance the Scottish Government.[1]
Crown Estate Scotland's main income source is from leases on the property, which is mostly in sectors such as offshore renewables, farming, tourism and aquaculture. The corporation is one of the largest property managers in Scotland, managing assets worth £568.2 million as of 2022.[2] These include over 35,565 hectares (87,880 acres) of land in rural Scotland, the majority of which is let for farming, residential, commercial, sporting and mineral operations. The estate also has significant holdings in the coastal and marine environment, including virtually all of the seabed out to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres), rights to lease seabed for renewable energy generation and gas and carbon dioxide storage out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) and just under half of Scotland'sforeshore. The corporation works alongside the Scottish Government,Scottish Parliament, local authorities, communities, third sector and businesses with the aim to create "lasting value for Scotland".[1]
| Crown Lands (Scotland) Act 1832 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to authorize the Hereditary Land Revenues of the Crown in Scotland being placed under the Management of the Commissioners of the Land Revenues. |
| Citation | 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 112 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 August 1832 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Crown Estate Act 1961 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Crown Lands (Scotland) Act 1833 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to provide for the Payment of certain ancient Grants and Allowances formerly paid out of the Civil List Revenues. |
| Citation | 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 86 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 28 August 1833 |
| Crown Lands (Scotland) Act 1835 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Acts relating to the Hereditary Land Revenues of the Crown in Scotland. |
| Citation | 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 58 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 September 1835 |
The basis for the assets now comprising the Scottish Crown Estate comes from various ancient rights, functions and assets that came to be owned by theScottish Crown, and later theBritish Sovereign in Scotland.[3] In 1790King George III revoked his claim to the income from the crown estates in England, receiving in return an annual payment known as thecivil list from the Treasury. The Crown retained the income from estates in Scotland until 1830, when underKing William IV the hereditary land revenues of the Crown in Scotland were transferred from theBarons of the Exchequer to theCommissioners of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings and their successors under theCrown Lands (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 112), theCrown Lands (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 86), and theCrown Lands (Scotland) Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 58).[4] These holdings mainly comprised former ecclesiastical land (following the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689) inCaithness andOrkney, and ancient royal possession inStirling and Edinburgh, and feudal dues. There was virtually no urban property. Most of the present Scottish estate excepting foreshore and salmon fishing is due to inward investment, includingGlenlivet Estate, the largest area of land managed by the Crown Estate in Scotland, purchased in 1937,[5] Applegirth, Fochabers and Whitehill estates, purchased in 1963, 1937 and 1969 respectively.[6]
After winning the2011 Scottish election, theScottish National Party (SNP) called for thedevolution of the Crown Estate income to Scotland. In response to this demand, theScotland Office decided against dividing up the Crown Estates, but plans were developed to allocate some of the Crown Estate income to theBig Lottery Fund, which would then distribute funds to coastal communities.[7] Following the2014 Scottish independence referendum, there were calls for more powers to be devolved from the United Kingdom Parliament to the Scottish Parliament.The Smith Commission was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron, with Lord Smith of Kelvin asked to "convene cross-party talks and facilitate an inclusive engagement process across Scotland to produce, by 30 November 2014, Heads of Agreement with recommendations for further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament". On 27 November 2014, the commission published a number of recommendations, which included that "responsibility for the management of the Crown Estate's economic assets in Scotland, including the Crown Estate's seabed and mineral and fishing rights, and the revenue generated from these assets, [should] be transferred to the Scottish Parliament."
| Crown Estate Scotland (Interim Management) Order 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Statutory Instrument | |
 | |
| Citation | SSI 2017/36 |
| Dates | |
| Made | 15 February 2017 |
| Commencement | 16 February 2017 |
| Other legislation | |
| Made under | Scotland Act 2016 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Crown Estate Transfer Scheme 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Statutory Instrument | |
 | |
| Citation | SI 2017/524 |
| Territorial extent |
|
| Dates | |
| Made | 31 March 2017 |
| Commencement | 1 April 2017 |
| Other legislation | |
| Made under | Scotland Act 1998 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
A bill based on the Smith Commission's recommendations became law as theScotland Act 2016 in March 2016. This made provision for the devolution for the management and revenues of Crown Estate assets in Scotland. Crown Estate Scotland was established by theCrown Estate Scotland (Interim Management) Order 2017 (SSI 2017/36). Under theCrown Estate Transfer Scheme 2017 (SI 2017/524), the existing functions of theCrown Estate Commissioners and the rights and liabilities set out in the transfer scheme transferred from the Crown Estate Commissioners to Crown Estate Scotland on 1 April 2017.[8] Prior to the handover, the Crown Estate owned a multi-million stake in theFort Kinnaird retail park which represented about 60% of the value of all Crown assets in Scotland. This was not passed to Crown Estates Scotland with other Scottish properties in 2016. Two years later, the Crown Estate sold its stake and used the funds to assume full ownership of the Gallagher Retail Park inCheltenham.[9]
The legislation that formally underpins Crown Estate Scotland was passed in 2019: theScottish Crown Estate Act 2019 (asp 1).[10]
In January 2022 Crown Estate Scotland announced the outcome of the "ScotWind" auction process, where 74 entities applied for rights to offshore wind generation in 17 areas of the seabed (covering a total area of 7,000 km2). The auction raised almost £700m for the Scottish Government, and covers sites estimated to be capable of generating over 24 GW of electricity in total.[11][12] In April, all 17 winners had signed options.[13] Crown Estate Scotland expects that the supply chain industry spends £1.5bn per project.[14]
Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for managing:[1]
AlthoughThe Crown has first claim on all "royal fish" (whales which measure more than 25 feet (7.6 m) from the snout to the middle of the tail) found dead or stranded in Scottish waters, since 1999 this right has been administered by theScottish Government'sMarine Directorate, and royal fish do not become the property of Crown Estate Scotland.[16] Similarly, assets that have no owner (bona vacantia) also revert to The Crown, but in Scotland such assets are dealt with by theKing's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer.[1]
Crown Estate Scotland is a self-financingpublic corporation of the Scottish Government,[17] i.e. a commercial enterprise under government control. As such Scottish Ministers are ultimately accountable for Crown Estate Scotland and the Scottish Crown Estate. It is overseen by a non-executive board whose members and chair are appointed by Scottish Ministers.[18] Board members are appointed to serve for a two or three-year term, and may not serve for longer than eight years in total. The board appoints a Chief Executive, who is responsible for day-to-day running of the organisation and is accountable to both the Scottish Parliament and the Board.[19] As of September 2022 the Chief Executive was Ronan O'Hara.[20]