Largest landholders in the UK

Thu Jun 7 13:22:52 BST 2012

email from Kevin Cahill, correcting information supplied by someone in 
an email thread (entitled 'Occupy Faith UK - Pilgrimage for Justice'), 
which suggested that the Church were the largest landowners in the UK:

From: 	"kjcahill" (email address hidden)
Subject: 	RE: [Diggers350] Occupy Faith UK - Pilgrimage for Justice
Date: 	Tue, 29 May 2012 08:29:04 +0100
To: 	<mark at tlio.org.uk>

Mark, the Church Commissioners are not the single largest landowner in 
the UK. For starters, the Crown owns all land. All other have one of 
two forms of leasehold; freehold for an indefinite period, or 
leasehold for a fixed period of time. And neither lease gives 
possession of land, merely 'an interest in an estate in land in fee 
simple'.

After that the largest landholders are as follows (un amended from Who 
Owns Britain 2001, but being up dated currently)

1. Forestry Commission. (The state)   2,400,000 acres

2.Ministry of Defence       (The state)      750,000 acres

3. Nat Trust 
                                                       550,000 acres

4. Pension funds                                              500,000 
acres

5. Utilities water, coal etc                             500,000 acres

6. The Crown Estate                                       384,000 
acres approx (The Queen personally)

7. The RSPB 
                                                       283,000 but 
added several estates between 2001 and 2012

8.  Duke of Buccleuch                                     277,000 
acres

9.Nat Trust for Scotland                                176,000 acres

10. Duke of Atholls Trusts                            147,000 acres

The Church Commissioners have about 120,000 acres  and are number 14.

The dioceses of the Church of England have 103,000 acres, separately 
from the CC, and are no. 16

Hope this helps.

Kevin (Cahill)

From: Diggers350 at yahoogroups.com [mailto:Diggers350 at yahoogroups.com] 
On Behalf Of mark at tlio.org.uk
Sent: 24 May 2012 10:13 AM
To: diggers350 at yahoogroups.com
Cc: Mark Barrett
Subject: [Diggers350] Re: [DiggersRe: Occupy Faith UK - Pilgrimage for 
Justice

In response to message about Occupy Faith UK - Pilgrimage for Justice,
please read the following:

From: "bewcastleminster" <reedmace at ymail.com>
Sender: TheLandIsOurs at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [TheLandIsOurs] Re: Religion believes and encourages
systemic theft
Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 17:44:57 -0000
To: TheLandIsOurs at yahoogroups.com

There is an issue here in that the Church Commissioners are the single
largest landowner in the UK. Most of this land is agricultural in the
form of tenant farms. The income from these farms, along with that
from stock-market investments, is what goes to sustain the vast
majority of paid ministry of the Church of England, without which such
ministry just could not happen. (Contrary to much popular opinion most
dioceses in the CoE are broke, and collapsing. In my diocese in rural
areas, most vicars have to look after 7-8 parishes just because there
is no money for each to have their own, as in Victorian times to
1950s.)

However, there is no moral interest either in the land they 'own' or
how it is cared for or used. This is a problem.

I have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury about this and, while
he is deeply sympathetic, has no power to change the situation. It
remains an issue, but like much in the CoE, will take time and much
persistence to overcome.

However, it is not quite fair to say religion encourages systematic
theft. One of the priorities here in Cumbria (Diocese of Carlisle) is
to find a way of returning to the land as part of our understanding of
how to be human. We are presently looking at purchasing a farm on
which to base a small community as a replacement for the existing
system of vicar in a vicarage in a parish. This is actually about
returning to the land, not as a possession, but seeing ourselves as
spirit-enlivened soil, for which we are to care and share, and through
which we are to live and receive healing.

In earlier times it was actually the Church that taught people how to
look after the land, animal husbandry, provided hospitality and
hospitals, places of learning and safety from much of the violence
around. And this was all land-based.

There is much more that could (and should) be said on this, and while
it is true that the present institutional structures are an obstacle,
they have not always been so, and need not always be. As I hope we are
trying to demonstrate.

See www.bewcastleminster.org.uk

Rob

On Tue, 22 May 2012 07:29:39 +0100
Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at googlemail.com> wrote:
> This starts on June 7 fyi / in case you missed this from Tanya <
> jimimyhero at hotmail.co.uk>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Dear Fellow Occupiers
>
> Just wanted to invite you to see if any Occupiers wish to join us
>walking
> a Pilgrimage for Justice to Canterbury from London. The intention is
>to
> stay in urban areas to engage in conversations with the local
>communities
> about Occupy, as well as listen to their concerns about the economic
> crisis. This is an outreach that we are attempting, although is is
>being
> done through the Occupy Faith working group, which is also
>autonomous, but
> affiliated and supported be Occupy Faith in the USA, as OWS put us
>into
> contact with them. In addition, anyone from your Occupations is
>welcome to
> join us or to start their own Occupy Faith and we'd help in doing so
>if
> anyone is interested.
>
> Please forward our website to anyone who may be interested and if
>you have
> any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
>occupyfaith.org.uk
>
> --
> Apathy is Dead !
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarider/5254770064/#/photos/solarider/5254770064/lightbox/