Two young farmers facing eviction from their farms due to flawed legislation have invited politicians to come and see first-hand the “emotional and financial stress” caused by having to leave their farm businesses.
The farmers – brothers John and Ian Paterson – are holding a waygoing sale at Glenree Farm on the Isle of Arran today.
They have sent out invites to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing and their local MSP Kenneth Gibson to attend the sale.
The brothers are among a small group of tenant farmers who face eviction as a result of flawed government legislation.
A rally in support of the brothers and other affected tenant farmers was held outside Holyrood last week.
It coincided with a motion put forward by Green MSP Andy Wightman calling for emergency legislation to be passed to halt the evictions.
Edward Henderson of Hendersons Chartered Surveyors, which is acting as an agent for affected tenant farmers, said the evictions were caused by errors made by government, and not landlords and tenants.
He said: “It is now too late to stop the loss of these young farmers from the Arran farming community and their tenanted farm but it is not too late for Scottish Government to at least come forward with the compensation they promised where this worst case scenario unfolded. We ask for the First Minister to show bold and compassionate leadership at this time.”
A Scottish Government spokesman last night said: “It is not possible for us to comment on or discuss the details of live court actions.
“We remain committed to facilitating and funding mediation between tenant farmers and their landlords, in the interests of supporting the sustainable and productivity of the holdings and to maintain a strong rural economy. This can provide a forum for tenants and landlords who wish to engage to discuss and explore resolution of issues between them.”
