Our Good Practice Programme
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If you have a question about how land is owned, used or managed, are looking for early guidance or need help with a concern, our Good Practice Programme is here to help.
We offer support to help people understand good practice in land ownership, use and management, and to navigate issues before they become disputes. We don’t take sides or act as a regulator, our role is to help people work through land questions constructively and with confidence.
Our Good Practice Programme offers practical help for anyone who needs guidance on how land is owned, used or managed. You don’t need to know where to start, we can talk things through with you and help you find the right next step.
Through this service you can:
Speak directly to an adviser for impartial guidance
Access practical resources such as toolkits, route maps and templates
Watch webinars and learning sessions to build confidence and understanding
Our advice is open to anyone with a question or concern about land, including:
You don’t need technical knowledge or a formal complaint. Many people contact us simply to talk something through.
“Questions about land can affect people in different ways, and it’s important that everyone feels heard. We offer impartial guidance to help landowners, communities and public bodies understand expectations, communicate clearly and work towards solutions that are fair and practical.”
Can I speak to someone for advice?
Yes. You can phone or email our advisers for impartial guidance, even if you're not sure what the issue is yet. You can contact us by phoning 01463 423 300 or by emailing goodpractice@landcommission.gov.scot.
While conversations with us are handled sensitively, the Commission is a public body and information may be subject to Freedom of Information legislation. If you want to know more about how we handle personal information, please see our casework privacy policy.
Do I need to make a formal complaint?
No. Many people contact us for early advice or a sense-check before taking further steps.
What kinds of issues can you help with?
We can support with questions about access, communication, decision-making, transparency, community engagement, and other aspects of responsible landownership and management.
What if there is already tension or disagreement?
We can help you understand good practice and routes to resolution. We don’t take sides, but we can help clarify expectations and support dialogue.
Is the service confidential and independent?
Yes. Our advisers provide impartial guidance, we are not an enforcement body and we do not make determinations about wrongdoing.
While conversations with us are handled sensitively, the Commission is a public body and information may be subject to Freedom of Information legislation. If you want to know more about how we handle personal information, please see our casework privacy policy.
Resources you can use right away
We also provide a range of practical toolkits, templates, route maps and guidance that can help you take next steps in your own time.
If you’d like to discuss your situation in more detail, you can speak to one of our advisers.
There are 3 main ways to get in touch:
We handle all conversations sensitively. However, as a public body, we are subject to Freedom of Information legislation. You can read more about how we handle personal information in our casework privacy policy.
Sarah Madden
Head of Practice and Advice
Sarah is Head of Practice and Advice at the Commission, where she oversees the Good Practice Programme and the organisation’s tenant farming work. In this role, she guides efforts to help private, community and public landowners manage land in line with the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, and she plays a key part in supporting the statutory functions of the Tenant Farming Commissioner. Her work also involves helping landowners and communities secure benefits from a wide range of natural capital projects. Sarah brings experience from across land-based business, forestry policy, community development and political advocacy.
Gemma Campbell
Land Rights and Responsibilities Manager
Gemma’s work focusses on helping people to own, use and manage land responsibly in line with the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. She manages a programme of engagement, guidance, casework, and advice that supports key stakeholders across all sectors to strengthen their adoption of good practice principles in their strategy and delivery. She is particularly interested in community engagement, community ownership, Community Wealth Building, and Common Good. Gemma is a member of the KLTR’s Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme Panel and of Forestry and Land Scotland’s Community Asset Transfer Scheme Panel.
Karen Grant
Good Practice Adviser
As a Good Practice Adviser, Karen works to help embed principles of fairness, transparency, balance and opportunity into land ownership, management and use in Scotland. This includes offering support in the form of training, advice and guidance, and working with landowners and managers in the private, public and community sectors, to increase understanding and alignment with the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. Karen has a background in ecology, agriculture, forest issues and climate change.
Uwe Stoneman
Good Practice Adviser
Uwe’s role as a Good Practice Adviser is to promote and support good practice in Landownership across Scotland. This often means working directly with landowners and communities, as part of a transparent, fair, and constructive casework service. In his role, Uwe deals with a wide variety of cases, issues and opportunities, including community benefits from natural capital investment. Originally from Germany, Uwe has lived and worked in Scotland most of his life. He has a background in land management, community engagement, nature conservation and restoration.
Annabel Davidson-Knight
Community Benefits from Nature Adviser
As a Community Benefits from Nature Adviser, Annabel has a particular focus on support to embed a range of benefits for communities local to nature restoration projects. Working in partnership with the Cairngorms National Park Authority to explore opportunities arising from investment in natural capital, Annabel works with land managers and communities across the Park to identify and agree benefits as well as developing national best practice alongside a network of advisers through the Natural Capital Partnership Project with Community Land Scotland. Annabel has a background in the third sector, with a focus on place-based systems change, building multi-stakeholder partnerships and facilitating community action, most recently from within conservation organisations supporting people to actively shape a more equitable form of rural development in the face of climate and biodiversity threats.
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