Crown land
Government Functional Standard GovS 004: Property, Version: 2.0, published by HM Government on 1 September 2021, defines crown land as: ‘A term often used to cover a variety of categories, such as: land belonging to The Queen as monarch; The Queen’s private property; properties of the Duchies of Cornwall or Lancaster; or Government land. To avoid confusion, more specific terms can be used, such as The Crown Estate or central government property.’
‘The Crown Estate is property belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, which is neither government property nor part of the monarch’s private estate. The Crown Estate Commissioners are accountable to Parliament, reporting annually.’
Environmental Impact Assessment Handbook, Guidance for competent authorities, consultation bodies, and others involved in the Environmental Impact Assessment process in Scotland, published by Historic Environment Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage in 2018, defines crown Land or The Crown as: ‘….a generic term for land held by Her Majesty the Queen, as Monarch and certain other royal land and all Government held land, for example land held by the Ministry of Defence and land owned by the Scottish Ministers including prisons, Trunk Roads and Motorways.’
Crown Estate Scotland is a public corporation that manages land and property in Scotland owned by the Monarch in right of the Crown.
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