Land Reform Minister Aileen McLeod has revealed £10 million will be available for the new Scottish Land Fund.

The news comes as the Land Reform Bill reaches stage three of the parliamentary process.

Once passed, the fund will open on 01 April.

The initiative, which helps communities buy their own land, has trebled to £10m a year and is set to continue until 2020.

Previously, the fund awarded £9m over a three year period to 52 communities across the country.

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Over 90,000 acres was acquired through the initiative, with 500,000 acres already in community ownership.

Dr McLeod said it is important that communities are able to "make the right choice" in meeting local needs and further sustainable development in their local area.

"This is why we have restructured the fund to ensure support is available to communities from the idea stages right through to project development," she said.

"With the launch of the Land Fund and stage three of the Land Reform Bill later today, we are seeing a new dawn for community ownership in Scotland – the Bill will allow more communities than ever the opportunity to be involved in decisions about land that affect them."

(LM/CD)