Charity closer to buying government bull stud land

A charity has taken another step towards taking over about 20 acres (8 ha) of land on a Scottish government-owned bull stud.

Bulls kept on the 326-acre (132 ha) farm at Knocknagael on the south side of Inverness are hired out to crofters across the Highlands and Western Isles.

Knocknagael Ltd wants to create a community garden, orchard and allotments on an area called the Smiddy Field.

It has secured support from the Scottish Land Fund for its planned purchase.

The charity's next step is to negotiate the sale with Rural Payments Inspectorate Division (RPID), which owns and manages the Smiddy Field.

The Scottish government division previously refused a request for the asset transfer, but the decision was overturned following a review by an independent panel.

Government ministers accepted the panel's decision.

Knocknagael Ltd chairwoman Maria de la Torre said: "It is more than a year since the ministerial decision to allow the transfer was made, and we have spent months in negotiation with the department of agriculture.

"Hopefully this agreement on funding will allow us to rapidly conclude the transfer."

She added: "On behalf of all our members, we are grateful to the SLF for their support; without it we would not have been able to continue to the next stage."

The bull stud scheme at Knocknagael dates back to Victorian times.

Plans for the community bid were first made in 2015 after the field was deemed at the time to be surplus to requirements.

There were local concerns the land would be developed for housing and lost as a community asset.

RPID refused the asset transfer request because it said the land was needed for growing winter food, such as barley, hay or silage, for the bulls.

It said losing the field would mean sourcing alternative feed, leading to an increase to the farm's running costs which would be passed on to the crofters.