The Scotland Act 1998 devolved certain powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament, located at Holyrood in Edinburgh. The faculty to legislate in respect of land law and associated regulatory matters such as planning law was devolved. Although management of The Crown Estate and the functions of The Crown Estate Commissioners are reserved to the UK Parliament, The Crown Estate is subject to Scottish law and regulatory matters.

Prior to framing draft legislation, the Scottish Parliament has adopted a policy of wide consultation. Where applicable, The Crown Estate engages fully in that consultation process.

The Crown Estate annual report is issued to all Members of The Scottish Parliament.

The legislative process requires that Crown bodies, including The Crown Estate, give consent to the placing of bills (other than private bills) before they are presented to the Scottish Parliament. Upon enactment there is provision for the legislation to be reviewed to ensure that it does not encroach on matters which are reserved to the UK Parliament.

The Crown Estate has significant land holdings in Scotland. These include commercial investment properties, rural estates, certain fishing rights, gold and silver rights and foreshore / seabed interests. The use of The Crown Estate’s interests reflects local conditions. For example there is a significant fish farming industry utilising areas of seabed in Scotland. Although planning legislation is devolved in Scotland, this does not extend to the seabed, save only as proposed in respect of offshore fish farms.

Crown Estate foreshore and seabed in Scotland is held subject to public rights. There is no statutory definition of public rights over foreshore and seabed but they include rights of navigation, rights to fish for white fish and certain recreational rights.

The Scottish Parliament has already introduced a general right of public access to private land. This is designed to allow full access to and responsible use of the countryside. The Crown Estate welcomes and encourages public access to its land and fully embraces the concepts of this initiative.

The Crown Estate is administered by The Crown Estate Commissioners as a unified estate. There is no separate accounting for the income generated by The Crown Estate in Scotland – all income after meeting costs is paid to the UK Treasury. For information on a breakdown of our Scottish finances, please visit Financial Information.

For further information on our Scottish holdings, please visit our Scotland page.