Browsing Tag
Andy Wightman
36 posts
Scotland’s forests dominated by estates, investors and absentee owners, says report
Ownership of Scotland's forests is becoming increasingly dominated by wealthy estates, investors and absentee owners who live outwith Scotland, says a new study.
Hundreds of foreign property owners stay secret despite new rules
A “loophole” in new legislation means more than half of the offshore entities which own hundreds of Scottish properties, including entire estates, can stay secret.
Taxable derelict land increase in most council areas sparks calls for tax reform
The number of taxable vacant and derelict land plots grew in most council areas in recent years, prompting calls for an end to “perverse incentives” for owners.
Revealed: The developers behind Scotland’s carbon credit ‘green rush’
Scotland’s richest man, an earl, and private equity and property firms are among those developing carbon offsetting projects that critics say are pushing up land prices and allowing companies to “greenwash” their image.
Highland estate in public access legal battle owned in tax haven
A wealthy Highland landowner trying to block access to a path called “historic and important” owns the land via an offshore tax haven firm, The Ferret can reveal.
More than 1000 Glasgow private lets owned in tax havens
There are more than 4000 homes being let by overseas landlords in Glasgow, with more than one thousand owned through secretive tax havens, The Ferret has learned.
Revealed: MoD cover-up on Gruinard anthrax contamination
The Ministry of Defence covered up evidence that toxic contamination could have spread from Gruinard island to the mainland in north west Scotland.
NatureScot withdrew objection after ‘serious heat’ from its chair
The Scottish Government’s wildlife agency, NatureScot, withdrew an objection to a tourist development after “serious heat” from its chair, Mike Cantlay.
Revealed: ‘radical’ vision for Scotland as ‘woodland nation’
The Scottish Government should buy up, break up and sell off large forestry estates to diversify woodland ownership, experts are recommending.
