LAND REFORM will be top of the agenda if – and most probably when, given current polling – the SNP are returned to power at Holyrood.

The party this week announced an a package of measures intended to reform Scotland’s land in a 'green, fair and responsible' way.

The SNP’s candidate for Clydesdale and climate action champion, Mairi McAllan, set out five steps the SNP will take if re-elected:

Increase our tree-planting targets by 50%, from 12,000 hectares up to 18,000 hectares by 2025;

Invest £250m to support the restoration of 250,000 hectares of Scottish peatland by the end of the decade;

Address biodiversity loss and protect at least 30% of our land by 2030 with an investment of £500m;

Introduce a Land Reform Act as recommended by the Scottish Land Commission, set up by the SNP in 2016;

Double the funding available for community buyouts from £10m to £20m by the end of the parliament.

Ms McAllan said: “Our land is one of our key resources in Scotland – and one many countries can only dream of. We should harness and work with it in a way that is green, fair and sustainable.

“Scotland is already delivering more than 80% of all new tree planting in the UK but we will go further and increase our targets by 50%, from 12,000 hectares up to 18,000 hectares by 2025.

“And by the end of this decade, we’ll have invested £250m to support the restoration of 250,000 hectares of Scottish peatland, as well as £500m to address biodiversity loss.

“Making better use of our land and ensuring it is properly cared for is what is driving our ambitious land reform agenda, which is why our community funding has backed buyouts of land and community assets across the country and why we will bring in a new Land Reform Act as recommended by the Land Commission and double the funding available for community buyouts.

“These steps – tackling the climate crisis, transitioning to sustainable living, creating new industries to help us reach net zero, and protecting our land and our environment are all central to our recovery from the pandemic and to our future as a nation."