In the wake of intense public pressure, government officials are trying to find ways of intervening in the impending eviction of farm tenant, Andrew Stoddart whose tenancy of Colstoun Mains Farm is due to come to an end on November 28.
Mr Stoddart is one of eight tenant farmers who face eviction as a result of the legal precedent established in the "Salvesen Riddell" case.
They had taken advantage of a provision in the Agricultural Holdings Act in 2003 allowing Limited Partnership tenants to claim a full tenancy if they had been served a notice by their landlord dissolving their partnership.
Security of tenure could be granted if, in the opinion of the Land Court, notice had been served to circumvent the 2003 Act and any potential rights it might have given to tenants.
The measure was introduced by the Scottish Executive in response to reports that a large number of tenants - estimated at over 200 - had suddenly been served eviction orders.
Limited Partnerships are devices used to circumvent the 1949 Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act which granted security of tenure to farm tenants.
In a highly complex decision Lord Gill, presiding over the Court of Session in 2012 judged measures put in place to protect tenants in Limited Partnership arrangements were not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Officials are hoping to put the eviction on hold to allow Mr Stoddart to take part in the mediation process along with the seven other tenants in the same situation. The Stoddart family are the only ones whose homes and livelihoods face imminent threat following the Colstoun Trust’s decision to accelerate the end of the tenancy through the Land Court. It is hoped the Colstoun Trust is prepared to work with government officials to extend Mr Stoddart's tenancy and enter into negotiations to provide him with a realistic and fair end-of-tenancy compensation package.
Scottish Tenant Farmers Association director Angus McCall said: "No one, particularly the Colstoun Trust can now ignore the wave of public sympathy that "Scotland's shame" has attracted through petitions, social media and widespread press coverage. The plight of the family has struck a powerful chord and the online petition looks as though it will attract in excess of a staggering 15,000 signatures.
"The prospect of a tenant farmer with three young children being removed against his will from his farm in mid-career has horrified the general public, especially when it appears that he will not only lose his home and livelihood, but may also be left with very little by way of end-of-tenancy compensation.”
The Colstoun Trust said: “The disappointment and frustration that Mr Stoddart is now experiencing is not due to the actions of the Colstoun Trust but because of an unprecedented legislative failure which has affected many tenants and landlords.”
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