Simon Fraser Memorial Lecture 2025

Please join us for the annual Simon Fraser Memorial Lecture 2025.

The second annual Simon Fraser Memorial Lecture will take place in London and will be hosted by Community Land Scotland. The focus of the event will be on sharing experiences and learning between England, Scotland and Wales about community ownership and the transformational change it can deliver.

This conversation comes at a particularly opportune moment. The UK Government is developing proposals for the introduction of Community Right to Buy in England through the English Devolution Bill. Previous reforms, such as the Localism Act, have not given communities the same power, or had the breadth of vision, as the Scottish equivalents. It is also working on a land use framework, with discussion about the potential for a wider land reform agenda.

The Welsh Government is reviewing its approach to community assets, where there are currently no equivalent rights, and is considering whether to bring forward legislation and policy in support of a more ambitious community ownership agenda. A commission has been established to stimulate innovative thinking on community ownership of land and assets.

The facilitated discussion and debate, chaired by John Watt of Community Land Scotland, along with a voice of community ownership in Scotland and counterparts in England and Wales, will equip us with a much richer understanding of the path to community power through ownership of land.

We are pleased to be working with colleagues at the Community Land Trust Network, Power to Change and Cwmpas to bring you this event. We’d also like to thank the Nationwide Foundation for their support.

The gathering will feature a chaired panel discussion and open Q&A lasting 90 minutes, followed by live music and a drinks reception.

Meet the speakers:

John Watt – Chair of Community Land Scotland
John has worked in the Highlands and Islands for nearly 40 years. He established the Community Land Unit in Highlands and Islands Enterprise, chaired the Scottish Land Fund for nine years, and was vice-chair of the Scottish Government’s Land Reform Review Group. He is also a Board member of Community Land Scotland.

Angela Williams – Development Manager at Tarras Valley Nature Reserve
Angela oversees the development and financial sustainability of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. She manages income-generating projects, housing on the reserve, and works with the community to support visitor development. With over 20 years of experience in community buyouts, including 17 years with the Knoydart Foundation, she has worked on affordable housing, deer management, bunkhouse management, and renewable energy. Originally trained as a Landscape Architect, she has a background in project development, fundraising, and income generation in the voluntary sector.

Casey Edwards – Community Led Housing Project Manager, Cwmpas
Casey manages Communities Creating Homes, Wales’ only community-led housing hub, supporting over 50 groups developing 318 affordable homes. With over 10 years in the third sector, she has worked in community asset transfers and with large housing associations. She holds an MSc in Sustainability, Planning, and Environmental Policy, specialising in community-led high-street regeneration, and is a trustee of Building Communities Trust.

Sonia Bassey, MBE – Trustee of Community Land Trust Network, Chair of Mandela8, Chair of Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services, Director of L8 Matters CLT
Sonia is Chair of LCVS and Mandela8, Director of L8 Matters CLT, and a former Chair of Africa Oye. After retiring as Director of Public Sector Transformation for Cheshire and Warrington, she is now a PhD student at Open University. A former senior manager at Cheshire West and Chester Council, she led the Troubled Families Programme and the West Cheshire Poverty Truth Commission. Raised in a family of activists, her passion for community work was shaped by early life experiences, including witnessing the Toxteth Riots. She has a background in community engagement, arts regeneration, and was instrumental in an exhibition on the 1981 Toxteth Riots. Sonia was awarded an MBE in 2017 and the Liverpool City Region Lifetime Achiever Award in 2023.

Nick Plumb – Director of Policy and Insight at Power to Change
Nick is Director of Policy and Insight at Power to Change – the think-do tank backing community business. He has worked on communities policy and research for almost a decade. He oversees the organisation’s policy, research and communications functions and, for the past two and a half years, was a member of the High Streets Task Force Board. His research has covered everything from devolution and high street regeneration to local government procurement and community cohesion. He contributes regularly to the media and is the author of the Beyond Localism Substack.

Chris Ellis – Performer and Musician
Chris Ellis is a musician and filmmaker exploring how the arts help communities share their stories and drive change. With violinist Rosie Toll, he has contributed music to Land of Promise, a show combining songs, spoken word, and film to highlight struggles for land rights and social justice in the UK.

The Simon Fraser Memorial Series is part of Linn an Fhearainn / 100 Years of Community Ownership. The project focuses on the stories of community owners, the change they created, and how their legacy might shape the future by building a new digital archive. The archive can be accessed at www.100years.scot.

The Simon Fraser Memorial Lecture series launched in January 2024, held in Edinburgh, with subsequent events in Gigha, Lewis and Glasgow. These events are dedicated to the memory of Simon Fraser, a solicitor and pioneer of land reform in Scotland. Simon was instrumental in the success of some of the early community buyouts including Eigg, Knoydart and Gigha as well as the Assynt Crofters buyout.

Simon said of the Eigg buyout “It is a triumph for all that is good in humanity and certainly one in the eye for everything that is mean-spirited and self-seeking.”