Crofters are required to cultivate their croft or put it to some other 'purposeful use' that does not adversely affect the croft, the public interest, the landlord's interests (if there is a landlord) or the use of adjacent land. Using a croft for activities other than agriculture is known as diversification.
Common diversification uses can range from processing of food products like meat, fruit and drinks to tourism, and renewable energy or other commercial activity. Agrotourism or agritourism may involve inviting visitors to enjoy the food and drink or other products of a croft, take part in croft tours, wellness activities or even experience crofting-related activities like managing livestock. It is also common for crofters to take advantage of the location of their crofts as being excellent sites for renewable energy developments such as wind turbines or battery storage.
Renewable wind energy projects differ in scale from a single wind turbine to developments involving dozens or hundreds of turbines. A crofter can install their own renewable energy infrastructure on their croft (subject to landlord and planning permission). The rules are much more onerous where a crofter wishes to allow a renewable energy developer to construct renewable energy infrastructure on their croft. Normally developers will only proceed if the land can be permanently or temporarily removed from crofting through decrofting, resumption or where an application has been granted by the Land Court under the schemes for development rules. In such a situation it is advised to seek legal advice.
Where a crofter who is a tenant wishes to put their croft to another purposeful use, they need the consent of the landlord. If the landlord refuses, then an application can be submitted to the Crofting Commission who may give consent, with or without such conditions as they consider appropriate or refuse it.
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