A new report identifying the need for greater balance in the type of land available for housing in Scotland, has been published by planning and development consultancy, Lichfields.
The ‘Scotland’s Housing Land Requirement: A lot can happen in a year’ Insight report comes in the wake of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) being published for consultation in November 2021.
The consultancy, which complied its report using housing land supply data from 28 local authorities across Scotland, says the next few months will be ‘tumultuous’ as NPF4 comes into effect.
Gordon Thomson, Planning Director at Lichfields Edinburgh office and the report’s author, said: “This is an important report coming at a time of significant change for planning in Scotland. Local authorities no longer need to demonstrate how they intend to deliver housing land. This places the onus on relying heavily on developing older sites or continuing to roll them over for possible future use.
“So, as we move forward, addressing Scotland’s housing land requirement has to be more about finding balance, identifying the right type of land and in the right locations including, if appropriate, new short-term land to meet any under-delivery.”
He continued: “Planning must reflect demand for housing – people will lose out if plans are not fulfilled. Can enough housing be delivered? Local authorities and developers can work together, but it’s about bringing forward a mix of land types in the right places. We will then be able to deliver the new housing and create the places where Scottish people will want to live and build communities.”
A copy of the ‘Scotland’s Housing Land Requirement: A lot can happen in a year’ report is available at https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/scotland-s-housing-land-requirement
