Ramblers Scotland are celebrating a Scottish landowner dropping an appeal against a decision by the Sheriff in Stirling.  The landowner's application to restrict public access was limited by the Sheriff to the immediate environs of the house - a much smaller area than originally requested by the owners.   This decision was appealed.  Significantly, as this decision has been left to stand, it now sets the benchmark for comparing the exercise of the right of public access, and a landowner's right to curtail that access, under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

Euan and Claire Snowie own Boquhan Estate near Stirling.  They applied under the 2003 Act to have the whole of the Estate (70 acres) exempted from public access rights.  That application was partly denied by Sheriff Cubie with his decision in 2008.  Only 15 acres immediately surrounding the house were to remain private.  For our commentary on this case at the time please click here. The Snowies opted to appeal.

With the abandonment of the appeal last week, Sheriff Cubie's decision becomes the point of reference for disputes concerning public access and individual rights to privacy.  The governing principal remains that the 2003 Act:-

"allows responsible access to land … [except that] which comprises, in relation to a house sufficient adjacent land to enable persons living there to have reasonable measures of privacy in that house and to ensure that their enjoyment of that house is not unreasonably disturbed."

How that principal is applied will depend on the individual facts and circumstances of each case but, clearly, we can expect future interpretations to be narrow.

Further information
For further information on this or any access/land resources issue, please contact Alasdair Fox or Douglas Reid or your usual contact within Anderson Strathern.

This bulletin is for general information only and does not constitute legal, investment or other professional advice. Please contact us should you require advice on any particular legal issue. Anderson Strathern LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise if reliance is placed on any information or opinions expressed in this bulletin.