Scottish vacant and derelict land survey 2016

7 Derelict and Urban Vacant Land: Location relative to Deprivation

7.1 This section focuses on derelict and urban vacant land and where it is situated relative to the 15% most deprived datazones in Scotland (as identified by the 'Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation' ( SIMD 2016). The SIMD identifies small area concentrations of multiple deprivation across all of Scotland. It contains 38 indicators in seven domains: Income, Employment, Health, Education, Skills and Training, Geographic Access to Services, Crime and Housing. SIMD 2016 was published on 31 August 2016.

Table 10: Derelict and Urban Vacant Land located within the 15% most deprived datazones, 2012-2016 ^1,2,3,4,5

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
2. 2012-2016 analysis uses the results of SIMD 2016 published on 31 August 2016. These results should not be compared with those published in previous bulletins due to the updated SIMD index.
3. See Annex Table E for details of council participation in different years.
4. Further information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.9.
5. During 2016, historical data for the years 2010-2015 were revised to remove sites that had been taken out of the survey for definitional reasons and to correct any revisions to the data highlighted in the 2016 survey returns. Further information on this process is available in the Annex along with un-amended historical data for the survey years of 1996-2009.
6. 2016 data for Dumfries & Galloway, East Lothian, Highland and West Lothian is carried over from 2015.

7.2 Table 10 shows the proportion of each local authority's datazones that are within Scotland's 15% most deprived, and the amount of derelict and urban vacant land that is situated within those datazones for the years 2012 to 2016. In 2012, 1,464 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land were situated within the 15% most deprived datazones. By 2016 this had increased to 1,593 hectares. This represents 13% of all derelict and urban vacant land recorded in Scotland in 2016.

7.3 Glasgow City has the largest amount of derelict and urban vacant land located within the 15% most deprived datazones for each of the last 5 years. This figure has decreased by 95 hectares between 2012 and 2016 from 774 hectares to 679 hectares. East Ayrshire has the second highest amount of derelict and urban vacant land located within the 15% most deprived datazones for 2016. This figure has increased between 2012 and 2016 from 61 hectares to 309 hectares.

7.4 At the other end of the scale Moray, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands have no datazones within Scotland's 15% most deprived, thus no derelict or urban vacant land could be recorded in Table 10. In addition to this, whilst Angus, Dumfries & Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian and Perth & Kinross do have datazones within Scotland's 15% most deprived, they did not have any derelict or urban vacant land situated within those areas in 2016.

7.5 Table 10 uses the results for SIMD 2016. In previous SVDLS publications analysis was based on SIMD 2012. The largest differences for area between the two versions of SIMD are noticed in East Ayrshire for the years 2014 & 2015 and for North Lanarkshire across all years. In East Ayrshire there is a large increase in the area of vacant and derelict land in the 15% most deprived datazones (285 hectares for 2015). This is largely due to two sites (133 hectares and 110 hectares) that under SIMD 2016 now fall within the 15% most deprived datazones but were not included under SIMD 2012. In North Lanarkshire there is a large decrease in the area of vacant and derelict land in the 15% most deprived datazones (290 hectares for 2015). This is mainly due to 6 sites ranging from 7 to 115 hectares that no longer fall within the 15% most deprived datazones.

Chart 3: Percentage of Derelict and Urban Vacant Land located within the 15% most deprived datazones, 2016

7.6 Chart 3 shows the amount of derelict and urban vacant land located within the 15% most deprived datazones in 2016, split by local authority. Glasgow City has the highest proportion, with 43% of all derelict and urban vacant land within the 15% most deprived datazones being located within this council's boundaries. East Ayrshire is second; containing 19% of all derelict and urban vacant land located within the 15% most deprived datazones. Some distance behind those 2 councils lie North Ayrshire (7%) then North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire (each with 5%) and Dundee City and Renfrewshire (each with 4%). Across Scotland as a whole, three fifths of all derelict and urban vacant land located within the 15% most deprived datazones are in either Glasgow City or East Ayrshire.

7.7 Chart 4 draws together the analysis on people's proximity to derelict land in 2016 and the information on deprivation levels contained within SIMD 2016. Each deprivation decile is shown on the x-axis, decile 1 represents the 10% most deprived datazones in Scotland, through to decile 10, which represents the 10% least deprived datazones in Scotland. For each decile, the proportion of the total datazone population that lives within 500 metres of a derelict site in 2016 is given.

7.8 A clear relationship can be seen in Chart 4, showing that as datazones get progressively less deprived, the proportion of their population that lives within 500 metres of a derelict site becomes smaller.

Chart 4: Percentage of Scotland's population living within 500 metres of Derelict Land by deprivation decile, 2016 ^1,2

1. Analysis uses 2015 mid-year population estimates and SIMD 2016.
2. No comparison has been made with previous year's results since this year's results based on SIMD 2016 are not comparable with previous years that were based on SIMD 2012.