Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell recently toured the Applegirth Estate in order to visit local farmers as well as the many areas of forestry and conservation located in the 17,000 acres between Moffat and Lockerbie.
Managed by independent body the Crown Estate, Applegirth has recently received over £280,000 of investment into improving housing, farming and forestry maintenance and Mr Mundell was keen to see in person what the Crown Estate had been doing to help the growth and support of local farming businesses in the area. He was also keen to ensure that wherever possible local tenants would not see any day-to-day changes when the Crown Estate is devolved in April this year.
Commenting following the visit Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell said: “My family have a longstanding link with the Applegirth estate where my great-grandfather had a small holding and I therefore know the importance of tenants in farming communities.
“This visit was an excellent opportunity to meet personally with representatives of the Crown Estate and with local farmers in order to discuss any concerns they had particularly regarding an uncertain future surrounding Brexit and their goals for the coming years.
“Farming and forestry are of great importance locally and as major landowner the Crown Estate has a significant role to play. Public access to the area has been vastly improved upon particularly among woodland areas and I would urge the public to make use of these walkways and discover some of the outstanding countryside we have on our front doorsteps.”
