Housing Land Audit: guidance

Collaboration

68. It is the responsibility of the planning authority to prepare and publish the HLA, however collaboration is essential. It will support them being as accurate as possible and therefore improve their robustness. There will be more confidence in more robust HLAs, which will support the planning system in enabling delivery of housing through plan preparation and decision making on applications. More robust and consistent HLAs will also enable a more reliable overview when information is collated from across Scotland.

69. Relevant stakeholders could include, but are not limited to:

• Housebuilders: SME, volume builders and Registered Social Landlords (RSL), including, but not exclusive to, Homes for Scotland members.
• National and local representative groups, including but not exclusive to Homes for Scotland and Scottish Property Federation.
• Landowners.
• Agents / Consultants.
• Local Authority services, including Housing, Building Standards and Education.
• Relevant agencies, including, but not exclusive to Transport Scotland and Scottish Water. And,
• The NHS.

70. Stakeholders are encouraged to engage positively with the HLA process. Engagement in the HLA preparation should also be proportionate. Island and some rural authorities may require a tailored approach.

71. Good practice in engagement in the audit preparation can include:

• Early engagement of stakeholders through a proportionate proforma or a draft spreadsheet to gain information on the status of each site, completions for the previous year and programming estimates. And/or
• Circulation of the draft HLA to stakeholders for comment. And/or
• A meeting with stakeholders, particularly developers and agencies, to discuss the draft HLA and to focus on any disputes over programming and to consider constraints and actions to resolve them. This may be chaired by the authority or by an independent person, who may assist in reaching a compromise.