A croft in Shetland has become the 4,000th to be registered by Registers of Scotland (RoS). It joins the online Crofting Register, which went live on 30 November 2012 as a result of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

The registration comes as RoS staff are gearing up to attend a series of agricultural shows in order to encourage and support the voluntary registration of crofts in Scotland.

The 4000th croft is C4089, Beala (Apportionment) in Shetland. It joins the 200th common grazing, a shared area of community land in Assynt, also registered this week.

Introduced in 2012, the Crofting Register is the first official register to give crofters legal certainty over their crofts.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing said:
“Crofting is an integral part of Scottish rural life that makes a significant contribution to our economy, environment and culture. I am therefore delighted to hear that the 4,000th croft has now been registered on the Crofting Register – an achievement that has taken just four years.I look forward to hearing about many more additions to the register in due course as we continue to support our crofters and crofting.”

Sheenagh Adams, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland said:
“Crofting is a key part of Scotland’s rural economy, and is a vital part of our culture and heritage. The Crofting Register helps to safeguard that and with around 18,000 crofts in Scotland, reaching the 4,000th registration in such just four years is an achievement we are proud of. It is particularly pleasing to see communities continue to work together to facilitate the registration of their land.”

Bill Barron, Crofting Commission Chief Executive, said:
“To have reached 4,000 registered crofts means that overall 20% of all crofts are now registered with Registers of Scotland. To achieve this in just over five years, since the Crofting Registers inception, is a notable achievement. It’s interesting that the 2000th and the 4000th croft to be registered were both in Shetland. Progress with registrations is important as it provides crofters and other interested parties with certainty as to the extent and interests in croft land.

We will continue to work closely with RoS, crofters and grazings committees to ensure the registration process is as smooth as possible.”