‘A Long & Tangled Saga – The Story of the Pairc Estate Community Buyout’ was launched on 27th October 2021. An opening event at Faclan – The Hebridean book festival – saw Bob in conversation with Agnes Rennie, previously of the Acair publishing house. Bob outlined the background to his book and later took questions from the auditorium. A similar, though smaller event was held the following week at Gravir Free Church hall.
Angus Nicolson spoke at both events on behalf of the Pairc Trust, to thank Bob for his painstaking research and give an update on the work carried out since the buyout.
There was acknowledgement of the many, many people who were involved in the 13 year journey towards community ownership.
In light of the incredible amount of work that went into making it happen, Agnes commented on the reasons for pursuing community ownership – that the people will have the land forever, nobody can take them off it, or do something without asking them first.
Bob suggests that land reform legislation might help to right some of the wrongs of the Clearances. That community ownership is not only a means of helping the economic and social regeneration of the district; but also of righting historic wrongs inflicted by previous landlords at the time of the Clearances (he stresses that the previous landlord’s family were not involved with this in Pairc).
Bob explained his background – on retiring he started researching land reform full time and became the first PhD History graduate of the Centre for History at UHI. He is now a recognised authority on Hebridean land resettlement.
Bob took the time to clarify that this book is his own independent account of the buyout – he has taken no payment for the work and will take no royalties for the book.
From the Pairc community’s point of view, it was such a complex subject that people are still unsure of what happened at a detailed level. Bobs book lays out the facts in an easy to read way, that puts key decisions in a broader context and helps to track events on a timeline.
The buyout is now seen as a landmark case in the history of land reform in Scotland.
Of the many lessons to be learned from such a long process, Bob highlighted:
The importance of taking the community with you – of keeping everyone informed of what is going on, even when not a lot is going on. Community-led initiatives can be best realised if the community works and pulls together. Sensitive and clear leadership is required to ensure full and genuine consultation with everyone to reach a democratic decision.
Capacity within a small community can be difficult. The buyout was a huge learning curve that required gaining knowledge of land reform legislation which had never been used before, crofting law, the workings of central and local government and funding agencies, legal and financial procedures, governance of charities and overall negotiation and meeting skills. This took a huge amount of personal energy and even those not directly involved had to keep up with the narrative. The initial enthusiasm in Pairc was inevitably sapped by the long grind of dealing with red tape and opposition to the purchase.
In support of the community’s endeavours outlined by Bob, others have commented:
“This book is an inspiring account of what can be achieved by a community who had the tenacity, the belief and the desire to make life better for themselves. It should encourage people everywhere in Scotland and beyond.”
David Cameron, former chair of Community Land Scotland
“This book tells of land reform under the most challenging of circumstances. How a tiny group of dedicated people overcame their setbacks, conflicts, and inexperience. Here is a chronicle – essentially for policy makers – of how a scattering of villages, hanging on by a thread, pleated from that thread a rope that pulled life back into their community.”
Alastair McIntosh, ecologist, writer, academic and activist.
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