Crown Estate Scotland (CES) has responded to a recently launched campaign from Salmon Scotland, after salmon farmers called for £10 million-a-year in licence fees to be reinvested in tackling the country’s rural housing crisis.
CES was clear that it is responsible for managing “seabed, coastline, rural estates” and more, as well as “helping ensure families, businesses and communities can live, work and thrive on the assets which make up the Scottish Crown Estate.”
The Estate works to support aquaculture in the region by providing leases for area of seabed that are used to farm finish, shellfish and seaweed. Alongside that, CES supports the sector by funding practical measures to improve the environment in which aquaculture operates – for
example helping in the planting of seagrass.
Read also: Salmon farmers demand £10 million fees be used to address Scotland’s rural housing crisis
The money that is used to run the business and invest is raised through the management of CES, with revenue profits passed to the Scottish Government for public spending and revenue profit that CES makes from activity that takes place between 0nm and 12nm is redistributed
to coastal local authorities.
Between 2017 and 2020, the Scottish Government passed more than £28m of Crown Estate Scotland generated revenues to local authorities in coastal areas. This money “helped provide support to COVID-19 recovery projects, economic regeneration and job creation, flood protection, environmental projects, and many other projects and initiatives.”
In addition to revenues passed to the Scottish Government, CES offers local communities the opportunity to apply directly to one of Crown Estate Scotland’s grant programmes. In 2020, CES launched the Sustainable Communities Fund, “aimed at supporting local regeneration and development around Scotland’s coast.”
Since 2019, this funding has been allocated based on the length of coastline in each local authority area. The effect of this funding model has been aimed at favouring “those local authorities where aquaculture is most prevalent and where the greatest numbers of people employed in the industry live.”
Throughout 2022-23, CES was clear that it will continue to provide funding for the benefit of coastal communities, “working with local authorities, community trusts, businesses, and local people to provide support in terms of financial partnerships and investments, grants, and the
funding of new staff.”
