A croft exceptional as land with no house but one of Scotland’s best views goes for offers over £200,000

A view of Seilebost and Luskentyre beaches

Farming a small croft is a traditional part of the Highlands and Island economy. But while most crofters pay tiny annual rents, the tenancy of one croft in the Western Isles has just gone on the market for a breathtaking £200,000.

The 17 acres on Harris has no house or planning permission but boasts a fabulous location and breathtaking view.

Sitting behind Luskentyre beach – regularly listed as one of the world’s best – the croft looks over to the island of Taransay.

The tenancy is being sold by Donald Mackinnon, who lives on the neighbouring island of Lewis, and who rents it from the community-owned West Harris Trust for just £23 a year.

Crofting tenancies are regularly bought and sold – subject to the approval of the Crofting Commission, which will want to ensure a buyer intends to put the land to agricultural use.

But the sale or “assignation” of this tenancy – Croft 4 Seilebost – has raised concerns that the price is out of reach of anyone hoping to make a living by farming, or any young buyer wanting to live on the island. The islands are struggling with an ageing population – there are more crofters aged over 80 than under 40 – but estate agents say they have had record numbers of enquiries as more people from England and mainland Scotland consider moving to remote areas due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, himself a crofter, said: “It will be out of the price range of the typical crofter. Based on the average earnings from crofting it will take the purchaser 100 years to get their money back. I would hope the Crofting Commission use all their powers to make sure any assignation is a genuine one.”

The West Harris Trust says it is keen to attract young families to the area, but says rising croft prices make this difficult.

A spokesman said: “The Trust remains concerned that the ever -increasing prices being realised for crofts and houses make it very difficult for young people to remain in the community.

“As a community landlord, the Trust has no influence over a croft assignation, which is instead regulated by the Crofting Commission. The Trust also receives no part of the proceeds.”

Crofting legislation dating back to the 19th Century was established to stop tenants being cleared from their land by unscrupulous landlords.

But more and more crofters have been selling up at scenic locations with the potential to be prime housing plots once at least part of the land has been decrofted – a legal process where it ceases to be a croft. Selling agents MacIver Teale say the croft is “indisputably one of the finest appointed crofts on the Isle of Harris”.

They added: “Extending to approximately seven hectares, Croft 4 Seilebost overlooks the remarkable landscape of south west Harris, from the white sand beach of Seilebost, to the sand dunes of Luskentyre and across to the island of Taransay.”

The prices for crofts without houses on Lewis and Harris range from £5,000 to £75,000, with the typical price around £30,000. Planning permission or a good view push up prices.

The crofting way of life is under massive pressure from people wanting to use properties as holiday rentals or second homes. Fewer than half of the properties built in recent years in Luskentyre are lived in by permanent residents, a recent survey found.

Research conducted by the West Harris Trust found that 21 out of 38 properties built or in the process of being built are holiday homes or rentals.

Most recently, a croft with a house on it at Luskentyre was placed on the market for offers over £385,000. The house was advertised as a “turnkey second home or holiday let business for the next owners”.

The Crofting Commission said: “The Commission does not have any control over the price crofts change hands for. We are aware that in many instances the price is outwith the reach of local young people who want to get a foothold into crofting.

“However, if it is a tenanted croft then Commission consent must be sought for the transfer of that tenancy and, as part of that process, the incoming tenant would have to provide details of their intention for taking up residence and the working of the croft.”

The Mackinnons declined to comment.