Capital investment for regeneration

Our regeneration vision is for a Scotland where our most disadvantaged communities are supported and where all places are sustainable and promote wellbeing.

Regeneration is

delivered in partnership with communities and local government
delivering the twin priorities of economic recovery and tackling inequality
requires a sustained and coordinated place based approach

Place Based Investment Programme

The Place-Based Investment Programme (PBIP) is being used to link and align place-based funding initiatives. The aim of the PBIP is to ensure that all place based investments are shaped by the needs and aspirations of local communities and accelerate our ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community led regeneration and community wealth building. It includes the continued delivery of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund as well as Place Based Investment Programme funding to local government, and our ongoing sponsorship of Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company.

The Place Principle, which underpins this approach, was adopted by Scottish Government and COSLA as a basis for collaborative working to ensure that future local investment is relevant to local communities for the benefit of local people. Bringing relevant services, enterprise, and communities together to make our towns, villages, and neighbourhoods more viable. The PBIP alongside the developing Place Framework are designed to make the Place Principle real.

A coherent programme approach to place based investment will provide the structure to challenge, coordinate and target efforts in any particular geography. It is designed to make sure that all place based investments understand the place in which they are made, how their contribution will help deliver the changes needed, and how local communities shape their future.

Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF)

The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund is delivered in partnership with COSLA and local government. The Fund supports locally developed place based regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth in deprived, disadvantaged and fragile remote communities across Scotland.

However, due to the current unprecedented pressure on capital investment budgets across the public sector this fund is currently paused. We are unable to advise on any future funding rounds.

Eligible organisations

When open, the RCGF accepts applications from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, either individually or if they exercise their functions through an urban regeneration company or another special purpose vehicle.

Eligible projects

Applications are not restricted in geography, size or type of project. It is for applicant organisations to demonstrate that projects fit with the aims and objectives of the fund and can demonstrate clear regeneration outcomes in line with our strategy document Achieving a Sustainable Future and local area regeneration plans.

Project focus

projects that primarily focus on areas that suffer from high levels of deprivation and disadvantage
projects that demonstrate clear community involvement
projects that will deliver large scale transformational change with strong regeneration outcomes
projects and programmes that can encourage additional investment and address market failure

RCGF support to date (includes latest awards for 2023 to 2024)

View the full list of projects supported from RCGF to date.

These projects are supporting or creating jobs, refurbishing and bringing back into use a number of historic and landmark buildings, creating business space, and supporting numerous community facilities and services across Scotland.

Evaluation

In December 2018 we commissioned Research Scotland to undertake an independent evaluation of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) and the final report which was published on 20 December 2019.

Further information

If you have any questions on the fund, email them to rcgf@gov.scot. Enter 'Request for further information' in the subject heading.

Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP)

The Low Carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) offers funding to transform long-term vacant and derelict sites.

However, due to the current unprecedented pressure on capital investment budgets across the public sector this fund is currently paused. We are unable to advise on any future funding rounds.

Eligible organisations

When open, the VDLIP accepts applications from any of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and Clyde Gateway URC.

VDLIP projects supported to date

See: the full list of projects supported from Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme to date.

About the VDLIP

Scotland has almost 11,000 hectares of vacant and derelict land sites which can blight communities, harm wellbeing, and limit opportunities. However those sites could offer so much more - they could help solve some of society’s biggest challenges, including around climate change and inequality.

By prioritising the reuse of persistent vacant and derelict land, and protecting our existing natural capital, we can ensure that future investment goes into areas where it is needed the most, supporting shared ambitions for place, community regeneration, town centres, and 20 minute neighbourhoods.

The £50 million low carbon VDLIP is a capital programme scheduled over five years to help with tackling persistent vacant and derelict land, supporting place based approaches to delivering regeneration and sustainable inclusive growth, as part of a ‘just transition’ to net-zero. It is being established in the context of our economic recovery being a green recovery, and builds on existing approaches to tackling disadvantage and deprivation.

The VDLIP complements the new Place Based Investment Programme. It aims to link and align all place based funding initiatives to ensure we have a coherent approach to sustained longer term renewal, promoting the resilience, health and wellbeing of communities across Scotland.

The VDLIP is based around four pillars of action:

sustained place-based approaches
urban green spaces
community-led regeneration
low carbon developments and renewables

The Vacant and Derelict Land Fund

The Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) aims to tackle long-term vacant and derelict land in Scotland. Its objectives are:

to stimulate economic growth
create jobs
promote environmental justice and improved quality of life
to support communities to flourish and tackle inequalities

It is an element of the local government budget settlement, as agreed with Scottish Government.

It focuses on projects that promote innovation in both temporary and longer term greening techniques for vacant and derelict land sites.

For 2022 to 2023, five local authorities will receive a share of £7.605m reflecting the extent of vacant and derelict land in these areas and levels of deprivation. These local authorities are:

Glasgow City Council
North Lanarkshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
North Ayrshire Council
Fife Council

More information about Vacant and Derelict Land

The Scottish Government produce an annual Register of Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land (SVDL). To make the data more accessible and usable a map has been produced. This new map is located on the Our Place website.

The map allows anyone with an interest in this type of land to be able to zoom into a site on the map to learn more about it. For each site users can find out the previous use, development potential, when it was last in use, the main owner, and get a satellite image to visualise the site.

The map is stage one of a two stage project. Stage two will be a new SVDL Information Hub bringing together the map and also relevant planning and regeneration policy, regeneration case studies, SVDL statistics and contacts. It will make SVDL information more accessible, easy to find and used more.

The map currently includes sites from the 2022 SVDLS statistics and will be updated with 2023 data towards the end of summer 2024. 

Information