Scottish Crown Estate: Strategic Management Plan

Overview

The Strategic Management Plan has been developed for the Scottish Crown Estate which includes a set of property, rights and other interests (or assets) that are owned by the Crown. These assets include:

• 37,000 hectares of rural land with agricultural tenancies, residential and commercial properties and forestry on four rural estates (Glenlivet, Fochabers, Applegirth and Whitehill);
• Rights to fish wild salmon and sea trout in river and coastal areas;
• Rights to naturally occurring gold and silver across most of Scotland;
• Extensive coastal rights including just under half the foreshore, 5,800 moorings and some ports and harbours;
• Leasing of virtually all seabed out to 12 nautical miles, covering some 750 fish farming sites and agreements with cables and pipeline operators, and equivalent rights to the seabed out to 200 nautical miles;
• The rights to leasing for offshore renewable energy and gas and carbon dioxide storage out to 200 nautical miles;
• Retail and office units at 39-41 George Street Edinburgh.

The first Strategic Management Plan for the Scottish Crown Estate outlines a vision and a set of objectives, priorities and policies for the future management of the Estate to deliver wider and long term social, economic and environmental benefits.

The draft Strategic Management Plan has been prepared in line with section 22 of the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019. The Act makes provisions for what must be included in the Strategic Management Plan and how it must be prepared (including consultation requirements), reviewed and reported on.

Why we are consulting

The Strategic Management Plan builds on the Scottish Ministers’ programme of work to reform the management of the Scottish Crown Estate. This Plan sets out a strategic direction to optimise the use of the assets, while protecting the Crown’s interest, and contribute to the successful delivery of wider Scottish Government policies to provide the best outcomes for Scotland.

We want to hear your views on this draft Strategic Management Plan: its vision, objectives, priorities and policies, as well as the ways in which we can monitor progress.

We will use your feedback to inform the development of the final Strategic Management Plan for the Scottish Crown Estate

Read the consultation paper. 

What happens next

When the consultation closes, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us reach a decision on the priorities for the future management of the Scottish Crown Estate.

We intend making all non-confidential responses to the consultation available to the public on the consultation page within 20 days of the consultation closing date.

We will also post an analysis of responses received to the consultation on the Scottish Government's consultation web pages.

We aim to issue a report on the consultation exercise. This report will be available on the Scottish Government consultation hub.