Who owns The Crown Estate in Scotland?

The Crown Estate is the land and property belonging to the Sovereign. It is inherited with the title, but is not the private property of the individual who is Sovereign. Her Majesty The Queen cannot sell The Crown Estate, nor does she receive money from it.

Although the Government does not own The Crown Estate, since 1832 all Scottish revenue has been paid to the Treasury, for the benefit of all UK taxpayers. In return the Sovereign receives the Civil List payment.

What is the value of The Crown Estate in Scotland?

The property value of The Crown Estate in Scotland in 2008/09 was £227.5 million.

How much net revenue do the Scottish estates yield?

The gross surplus in Scotland for 2008/09 was £15.5 million. The entire gross surplus is paid to the Treasury, and thus ultimately to the taxpayer.

Over one third of the Scottish income is collected from several commercial and office properties in Edinburgh. For further information on these holdings please visit our Scottish urban page.

What does The Crown Estate own in Scotland?

We hold a mixed office and retail property on George Street, Edinburgh, and hold a 50% interest in the Fort Kinnaird retail park. The combined capital value of these two holdings is about half of our total in Scotland. For further information please visit our Scottish urban page.

In Scotland The Crown Estate own and manage around half of the foreshore and almost all of the seabed out to the 12 nautical mile territorial limit. This asset features approximately 900 fish farms and thousands of private boat moorings. For members of moorings associations the cost of these moorings is just 11p per day to rent.

Our Scottish rural estate is comprised of approximately 36,000 hectares (89,000 acres) of land, split into five rural estates, which are managed by professional agents on our behalf. Chief amongst these is the award-winning Glenlivet estate in Moray. For further information on these estates, please visit the rural section of the website, or the Applegirth, Fochabers, Glenlivet, Stirling or Whitehill pages.

We directly manage over 5,000 hectares of forestry in Scotland, and let almost 100 residential properties, primarily on our Applegirth and Fochabers estates.

How much foreshore does The Crown Estate own in Scotland?

The Crown Estate owns about half of the foreshore around the Scottish coastline, compared to a national average of around 55%.

Is The Crown Estate planning on selling farmland in Scotland?

The Crown Estate fully intends to be a long-term rural landowner in Scotland and we have always bought and sold land over the years.

Does The Crown Estate have a sustainability policy?

We have a strong commitment to sustainability and produce a report each year showing our performance against specific targets relating to the way we do business, our customers, our people, the environment and the wider community.

For more information on The Crown Estate please visit our sustainability page.

How much expenditure does The Crown Estate outlay on research and development in Scotland?

In 2008/09 we invested just under £100,000 from our marine stewardship fund in community-based projects around Scotland’s coast. These included a further year of support for the Fishing for Litter project, whereby fishing boats collect litter at sea for safe disposal onshore, investing in a new mooring system at Chanonry Sailing Club in Fortrose Bay, and St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve received £30,000 for a conservation project.

For further information, please visit our shellfish funding and research page.

What local support does The Crown Estate offer in Scotland?

The Crown Estate supports coastal communities through its programme of marine stewardship. The programme was established to support practical projects, relevant research, and other initiatives that improve the status and management of the marine estate.

During 2008/09 just under £100,000 was awarded to new and continuing projects in Scotland.

On the rural estate, we retain a long term commitment to our agricultural tenants and have invested substantial amounts in buildings and fixed equipment to help them run modern and competitive businesses. Wherever possible we promote best practice in rural business, and encourage and support diversification and environmental management in partnership with our tenants. This is particularly evident on our Glenlivet estate where tenant enterprises include reindeer farming, sawmilling, a farrier’s business and a country museum as well as B&Bs. We also engage with local communities on future strategy within our estates.

Why is The Crown Estate not brought under the control of the Scottish Parliament?

The Crown Estate operates within the requirements of the Crown Estate Act 1961 and has a responsibility to manage the estate under those terms. Any changes to those responsibilities are a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Scotland. Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998 the management of The Crown Estate is a matter reserved to Westminster and any change is therefore an issue for Parliament, although The Crown Estate remains subject to Scottish law and relevant regulatory matters.

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