RLUP Land+ Handbook
About the Land+ Handbook
We are pleased to make the Land+ Handbook: A community-led approach to collaboration for the benefit of people and place available.
Written by Lizzie Williams and Rachel Skene, the handbook brings together the many strands of work undertaken from the NW2045 Regional Land Use Partnership pilot, which began in 2021, through to Spring 2025.
It captures the experience, learning and insights gained during this pilot phase and reflects the collaborative work carried out with communities across the NW2045 area.
Key Areas Explored
The handbook focuses in particular on the Kinlochbervie Community Council area, which served as the micro-pilot for the Land+ approach.
It also documents work carried out across the wider NW2045 area to explore opportunities related to Natural Capital markets, using a locally appropriate crofting township approach. This involved working closely with crofters, landowners, Grazings Clerks and the wider community.
The aim of the NW2045 community-led RLUP has been to create the conditions that enable change, rather than delivering a fixed programme of activity.
By facilitating conversations and nurturing connections, the work has helped build trust and collaboration within communities of place.
Through this process, people have been able to explore shared challenges and opportunities, from childcare and community services to natural capital, renewable energy and offshore servicing.
RLUP Pilot+ Lessons
The experience gained through the Land+ pilot has demonstrated the value of a community-led approach to land use collaboration.
By creating space for open dialogue and building relationships between communities, crofters, land managers and landowners, the project has helped foster a sense of possibility and shared responsibility for the future of the land.
These lessons form an important foundation for the next stages of RLUP work across the NW2045 area.
Land+ Principles
One of the key outcomes of the Land+ project has been the development of a set of guiding Principles.
These principles reflect the learning from the pilot phase and help shape how future RLUP work will be carried out across the region.
They will inform the next stage of collaboration with communities of place, including landowners, land managers, crofters and tenants, as the work continues to support the ambitions of the NW2045 Vision.
RLUP LAND+ HANDBOOK
The Land+ Handbook brings together the learning from the pilot phase and shares the approach developed through the NW2045 RLUP.
It provides a practical resource for communities, organisations and policymakers interested in collaborative approaches to land use and rural development.
Download the handbook to learn more about the Land+ approach and the lessons from the NW2045 RLUP pilot.
