The Rural Development Contracts (Land Managers Options) (Scotland) Regulations 2008

Crofters common grazings

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), a grazings committee, may with the consent of a majority of the crofters ordinarily resident in the township and sharing in the common grazing, make an application for aid and give an undertaking in relation to that common grazing.

(2) Such undertaking must include an obligation upon the grazings committee to bind their successors in office to the undertaking.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), payments of aid to a grazings committee must be made to the clerk of the grazings committee and the clerk shall–

(a) divide the aid among the eligible crofters in such proportion as determined by the grazings committee; or

(b) reimburse the aid accordingly.

(4) Prior to making an application, a grazings committee must give notice of its intention to do so and of its proposed division of the aid or reimbursement under paragraph (3), by serving notice in writing of the proposed application and the proposed division of aid or reimbursement on all crofters sharing in that common grazing.

(5) Any such crofter as is mentioned in paragraph (4) may within one month of the date of the notice under that paragraph make representations in respect of the proposed application and the proposed division of aid or reimbursement to the Crofters Commission who may approve the proposed application and the proposed division of aid or reimbursement with or without modification, or reject them.

(6) Where the Crofters Commission receives representations under paragraph (5) in respect of a proposed application the grazings committee will only be entitled to submit the proposed application, incorporating any modification made by the Crofters Commission, approved by the Crofters Commission under paragraph (5).

(7) The actings in relation to the relevant common grazing or part of the common grazing of any crofter with a share in that common grazing or part who has received or will receive aid in accordance with paragraph (3)(a) and (b), and any breach of the undertaking by such a crofter, will be deemed to be the actings of, or a breach by, the grazings committee for the purposes of these Regulations.