The postal ballot will be conducted by Pairc Trust with support from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and all local residents and crofters on the electoral register will be eligible to vote. Ballot papers, and explanatory information, will be sent to voters, and a series of local meetings organised to set out the background.

The decision to hold another ballot follows what the Pairc Trust claim as 'frustration over delaying tactics by the absentee landlord, Mr Barry Lomas, to prevent the community taking over meaningful ownership of the land'.

The ballot question, unlike the question in the original ballot in 2004 which received overwhelming support, will now explicitly refer to purchasing the interposed lease – without which, they say, the estate is virtually worthless.

Angus McDowall, Chairman of the Pairc Trust, said: "We believe a further ballot is necessary to confirm community support for the estate purchase, including the interposed lease.

"We do not rule out further discussions with Mr Lomas about a voluntary transfer, but only if he is prepared to transfer the normal rights of a crofting landlord at a reasonable price.

"If we are able to purchase the estate on behalf of the community, we have many ideas for social housing, tourism, community energy, and other projects, which could help reverse a century of population decline in our area. We are in favour of an inclusive approach to managing the estate, and are in discussion with other local community groups with a view to establishing a consensus on future structures."

Ballot papers, with explanatory information and details of the public meetings, will be posted to eligible voters in the week beginning Monday (November 23). Completed ballot papers must be received no later than Thursday December 10.

Mr Barry Lomas of the Pairc Estate said this week: "Pairc Trust has decided to walk away from the support given by the Scottish Government and the Pairc Estate since July 2008 in enabling community ownership of the 25,000 acre crofting estate.

"The Big Lottery Fund's Growing Community Assets Scheme was available to finance a successful application by Pairc Trust, which should have been submitted following the proposal made by its directors on 12 June 2009.

"Pairc Estate used Pairc Trust's nine point proposal to prepare a heads of agreement which provided for an amicable estate transfer of the 25,000 acres of crofting land by March 2010. This proposal did not include the interposed lease as Pairc Trust considered it to be beyond their financial means, yet now it has become the centre piece of their hostile bid.
"Pairc Trust has chosen to renege on its proposal, dismiss Pairc Estate's acceptance of an amicable estate transfer and to allow the Big Lottery Fund application to lapse, all to demand ownership of the interposed lease, even though it did not feature in its proposal."

Mr Lomas said that Pairc Estate had championed community ownership in 2009, calling all six meetings with Pairc Trust, both in Edinburgh, hosted by the Scottish Government, and locally in Kershader, as well as preparing all documents with the sole exception of Pairc Trust's own proposal which it has now branded as being 'virtually worthless'.

"Pairc Estate has spent a very considerable amount of time and private money in trying to enable community ownership and is greatly saddened that the community should now seem to be the loser, especially as Pairc Trust having spent at least £140,000 of public money now decides that it wants something else instead.

"The hostile route of the untested Right to Buy legislation will require considerable further public funding, if Pairc Trust really are intent on shunning an amicable estate transfer, and community ownership will no longer happen in March 2010, but realistically not for many years ahead.

"Pairc Estate remains willing to discuss an amicable estate transfer, if the Pairc community are able to engage in structured and realistic discussions," added Mr Lomas.