Inverness & Nairn MSP Champions Community Land Ownership After Local Visit

Inverness and Nairn’s MSP, Emma Roddick, has reaffirmed her commitment to empowering local communities following a visit to the Knocknagael Smiddy field in Inverness alongside representatives from Community Land Scotland.

The visit highlighted the immense potential of community-led land ownership in the Highlands, focusing on the Knocknagael Green Hub’s plans to transform the site into a vibrant outdoor community space.  The visit follows a series of written questions recently lodged by Ms Roddick in the Scottish Parliament, which pressed the Scottish Government for clarity on future funding allocations for the Scottish Land Fund and the implementation timeline for the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 – the Knocknagael project benefitted from the Land Fund.

Ms Roddick has long advocated for land reform that delivers tangible benefits for people in the Highlands and Islands, arguing that community ownership is key to tackling rural poverty, securing sustainable development, and keeping local assets in public hands.

Emma Roddick MSP said:

“I was delighted to visit Knocknagael with Community Land Scotland to see first-hand the inspiring, ambitious plans being driven forward by local people.  Spaces like Knocknagael are an integral cultural and economic asset to Inverness, demonstrating exactly why community ownership is so vital for the future of the Highlands.

“It’s folk like Maria and the team who are willing to throw themselves into projects and drive them forward through barriers and fallbacks that get things done – but it shouldn’t be this difficult.

“To ensure projects like this can thrive and become far more common, we need absolute certainty on funding and legislative support.  That is why I recently lodged written questions in Parliament to press the Scottish Government on its financial commitments to the Scottish Land Fund for the coming years, as well as the appointment of the new Land and Communities Commissioner.

“I want to make sure that our local communities have the tools, resources, and legal backing they need to take control of their own land, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for them in Edinburgh.”