Sir Geoffrey Howe

In 1971, Sir Geoffrey Howe told the House of Commons:

“A trade had grown up in recent years in order to please tourists mainly from North America … whereby they are able to purchase a ‘square foot of Old England’ for a comparatively modest sum.... It helps the balance of payments..... and it gladdens the hearts of our continental cousins and enables them to obtain a splendidly medieval looking deed of title, which, no doubt, they display at some appropriate place in their homes."

Ross Finnie MSP

In 2003, Ross Finnie MSP told the Scottish Parliament:

"In view of the fact that titles cannot be registered to the plots, it is not known what rights and responsibilities attach to the "owners" of the small plots of land, but any such rights and responsibilities would be of a personal nature. For the same reason is it not known what acreage of Scotland has been "sold off" in plots of a very small size.

It is not known how many such schemes there have been in the last 20 years. The Registers of Scotland have no knowledge of any problems caused by them."

Jill Robbie (University of Glasgow) / Malcolm Combe (University of Aberdeen)

One thing that is not unpredictable is the law surrounding souvenir plots, settled as it is by the recent implementation of the 2012 (Land Registration etc (Scotland)) Act and the fact that current land reform proposals of the Scottish Government contain nothing on souvenir plots.