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.

How much does it cost?

This event is free to attend but spaces are limited so please confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

Registration

Register using the “Attending” RSVP below.

If you are unable to be there in person, we will be live streaming the event. If you want to attend online, please use the “Livestream” option, and you will be sent watching instructions before the event.

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.”