 The Assynt Foundation bid will now move forward |
A Highland community has been given the go-ahead to mount a bid for the vast Assynt Estate in north west Sutherland. The 40,000-acre site had been put on the market by brothers Tim and Robin Vestey with an estimated value of �3m.
The land at Glencanisp and Drumrunie includes the Suilven and Canisp mountains, moorland around Lochinver, a deer forest and a shooting lodge.
The Scottish Executive has allowed the Assynt Foundation to proceed under the Land Reform Act's right-to-buy powers.
The Vestey family have been in the Highlands since the 1930s and will still own 60,000 acres in the area after the sale.
'Shaping futures'
The Assynt Foundation now faces the challenge of raising �2.9m to buy the land.
Deputy Rural Development Minister Lewis Macdonald said: "The Assynt Foundation's applications provide a mix of ecologically valuable land and land with viable potential, contributing to the longer-term sustainability of the community and its aspirations.
"Giving communities control over the way their land is managed gives them greater power to shape their own futures and provides real rights and opportunities to help them realise their economic ambitions."
The 720 people living in and around Lochinver unanimously voted in favour of a community bid in February, but had to secure the approval of the executive before an approach could be made.
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