Press Release
THE CROWN ESTATE REPORTS ON ITS PERFORMANCE IN SCOTLAND
9 July 2008
The Crown Estate has announced today a net revenue surplus for its Scottish estates of £10.3 million for the year ending 31 March 2008, the same as last year. This compares to revenue surpluses of £211.4 million the UK as a whole. All of this money goes towards supporting public expenditure.
Turnover in Scotland was £13.9 million, an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. The property value of The Crown Estate in Scotland increased by 2.3% over the year to £237 million.
Ian Grant, Chairman and Scottish Commissioner of The Crown Estate, said: “During 2007/08 we have focused on strengthening the way we work with our Scottish stakeholders. This has included setting up a Scottish liaison group of 22 organisations to improve opportunities for co-operation.
“We have also strongly focused on investment in our Scottish marine estate. This has included research and development to support the development of offshore renewable energy along with important investment in ports and harbours.”
An investment in new pontoons at Tobermory of £320,000 for additional sailing berths has been followed by an agreement to invest a further £700,000 in pontoons at Tarbert. The Crown Estate has also developed plans to grow the Rhu Marina, which was purchased shortly after the year end. The combination of these investments forms part of a programme to boost the west of Scotland as a sailing destination. Further investment in other ports and harbours is currently under consideration.
Offshore renewable energy has been a key focus of activity over the course of the year, which included the publication of The Crown Estate’s feasibility study into the construction of a sub-sea interconnector that would support the development of offshore renewable energy in Scotland. In addition, The Crown Estate has played a key role in the development of the Pentland Firth project which aims to deliver over 1,000 MW of wave and tidal energy by 2020.
The Crown Estate has also invested £250,000 into aquaculture research as part of its support for fish farmers. In addition over £140,000 has been invested through the marine stewardship fund in community based projects around the coast.
The Scottish marine estate generated revenue of £5.4 million during 2007/08 with a property value of £45.5 million.
Long term investment was also a feature of work with the rural estate in Scotland including the refurbishment of a number of properties and the gifting of land to local communities. Alongside this, work has continued to attract more new entrants to farming.
The Crown Estate has worked with its tenants to help them open up new markets through a pilot project involving a Crown Estate brand appearing on supermarket shelves.
“The development of sustainable tourism has been a key feature of our work on our rural estates”, added Ian Grant. “Through projects such as our ‘smugglers trails’ at Glenlivet we are opening up access to visitors in a way that benefits the local economy while conserving the natural environment.”
In 2007/08 the Scottish rural estate saw a revenue contribution of £1.6 million with a property value of £95.3 million.
On the Scottish urban estate we entered into a 50/50 partnership with British Land to own and manage large retail parks including Fort Kinnaird to the east of Edinburgh. Overall, the Scottish urban estate in Scotland generated revenue of £5.7 million during 2007/8 with a property value of £96.2 million.
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