Absentee landlord of Scottish island urges community buyout
The owner believes the future of the island lies with its residents
The owner of a Scottish island has spoken about his family’s wish to see the community take ownership of the land.
Max Ward, who has owned Muckle Roe in the Shetland Isles for more than 50 years, said he had felt for a long time that “as an absentee landlord and infrequent visitor to Shetland”, he had been unable to “contribute much to the evolution of Muckle Roe”.
He added: “My children, all of whom love the island, would be constrained in the same way that I am. They all support the idea of a community buy-out.”
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Mr Ward, 76, an investment banker, in an interview with Shetland News, urged the 130 or so residents of Muckle Roe to get on board a community buyout of the island, which he inherited from his grandfather, who once served as Conservative MP.
Mr Ward first floated the idea of a community buyout during a meeting in the Muckle Roe hall in June 2024.
The initial response, at least from the local grazing committee, was somewhat hesitant, the newspaper reported.
However, progress has since been made on a potential buyout, with grant funding from the Scottish Land Fund, the Delting Community Council and Shetland Community Benefit Fund allowing research of community views to be carried out, as well as an assessment of available public funding opportunities.
If a sale goes ahead, it would be the first ever community buy-out in Shetland.
Muckle Roe sits to the west of the Shetland mainland, with the two connected by a bridge, and is a popular tourist destination for those keen to experience its unspoilt natural beauty and wildness.
Mr Ward owns around 60 per cent of the island and is the landlord to around 25 crofting families. The remaining 40 per cent has been sold to local crofters who have exercised their right to buy over the years.
Mr Ward inherited parts of the original Busta Estate in 1974 from his grandfather Basil Neven-Spence, Shetland and Orkney’s only Unionist MP who lost his seat to Jo Grimond in 1950.
Part of a prominent land-owning family in the isles, Neven-Spence once lived in Uyea, off Unst, which he sold in 1950 and then bought part of the Busta Estate including Busta House and Muckle Roe, according to reports.
Mr Ward said that, following the initial meeting in summer 2024, both he and his wife Sarah formed the view that the community was well placed to look after the island.
He added: “In particular, they shared our view that wind farms would be a desecration of an area of outstanding natural beauty.
“We will ask our advisers to investigate what clauses we can put in the contract to prevent or discourage the building of wind farms on the island, but at the end of the day we shall probably have to trust the community.”
Mr Ward said it would be “difficult” to give up Muckle Roe given his long family association with the island, but added: “But I and my family will still have just as much freedom to visit Muckle Roe as we have ever had, and that is what really matters,” he added.
A local working group has appointed consultants from Community Enterprise to provide leadership and guidance for the Muckle Roe community to make informed decisions.
A spokesperson for the working group described the chance to buy the island as an “incredibly exciting opportunity for the community – one we would like to thank the current landowners for”.
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