Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2018

Data collection undertaken to establish the extent and state of vacant and derelict land in Scotland.


10. Urban Vacant Land: Levels and Location

10.1 This section focuses exclusively on urban vacant land, its levels over the past seven years and its location within Scotland. Vacant land is land which is unused for the purposes for which it is held and is viewed as an appropriate site for development. The land must either have had prior development on it or had preparatory work taken place in anticipation of future development. Vacant land is described as urban when it is located within settlements of over 2,000 in population. Unlike derelict land, urban vacant land is generally not in need of rehabilitation before new development can commence.

10.2 There were 1,192 hectares of urban vacant land recorded in Scotland in 2018. Glasgow City had the most urban vacant land with 425 hectares, followed by North Ayrshire (181 hectares) and then Dundee City (167 hectares).

Chart 4 –Planning Authorities with the largest area of Urban Vacant Land

Chart 4 –Planning Authorities with the largest area of Urban Vacant Land

10.3 In 2018, the largest areas of urban vacant land in Scotland were sites in Orchardbank Business Park, Angus (28 hectares), a former hospital site in Montrose (25 hectares), a site in Redburn, Irvine, North Ayrshire (22 hectares) and Claverhouse Business Park, Dundee (21 hectares).

10.4 In 2012 there were 2,496 hectares of urban vacant land in Scotland. This figure has fallen to 1,992 hectares in 2018. Between 2012 and 2018 there has been an overall 20% (504 hectares) reduction in the amount of urban vacant land in Scotland.

10.5 Changes in the relative amount of urban vacant land in Scotland between 2012 and 2018 show variation at council level. The largest reduction in terms of area was in Glasgow City, down by 156 hectares from 581 hectares in 2012 to 425 hectares in 2018. 23 Planning Authorities recorded percentage decreases, the remaining ten showed an increase. Some of the larger percentage changes, for example Orkney Islands and Perth and Kinross, are due to a very small base of recorded land in 2012.

Table 12 - Total Urban Vacant Land by Planning Authority1,2,3

Local Authority Total Urban Vacant Land Area (ha) % Change 2012-20185
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Aberdeen City 27 23 22 17 22 22 30 10%
Aberdeenshire 48 40 37 37 41 35 35 -27%
Angus 49 49 57 53 42 50 52 7%
Argyll and Bute4 26 25 23 22 21 20 20 -25%
Clackmannanshire 10 17 21 20 19 17 11 12%
Dumfries and Galloway 9 9 9 8 8 18 18 101%
Dundee City 172 182 193 199 188 168 167 -3%
East Ayrshire 58 67 60 61 70 77 74 28%
East Dunbartonshire 14 10 10 10 10 7 26 90%
East Lothian 9 11 10 15 19 14 10 13%
East Renfrewshire 15 21 24 19 19 17 18 17%
City of Edinburgh 97 100 97 88 72 87 77 -21%
Falkirk 80 85 86 91 83 75 69 -13%
Fife 112 128 127 132 126 128 129 15%
Glasgow City 581 552 533 504 471 449 425 -27%
Highland6 82 80 74 66 66 66 66 -20%
Inverclyde 117 123 120 136 78 75 73 -38%
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park4 5 5 5 2 2 2 1 -85%
Midlothian 17 17 12 12 10 12 11 -38%
Moray 14 12 12 7 7 8 8 -43%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 -12%
North Ayrshire 231 223 218 218 215 199 181 -22%
North Lanarkshire 218 159 159 147 145 145 145 -34%
Orkney Islands 1 * - - - - - -100%
Perth and Kinross4 9 16 29 28 26 26 25 166%
Renfrewshire 186 173 166 165 152 99 95 -49%
Scottish Borders 28 28 27 26 26 24 22 -20%
Shetland Islands 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 -67%
South Ayrshire 27 32 31 32 25 24 23 -15%
South Lanarkshire 120 119 127 122 115 116 94 -22%
Stirling4 40 44 33 32 35 32 28 -30%
West Dunbartonshire4 20 20 21 15 14 16 16 -21%
West Lothian 64 64 74 74 74 74 37 -41%
Scotland 2,496 2,444 2,427 2,364 2,212 2,113 1,992 -20%

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. See Annex D for details of council participation in different years.

3. During 2018, historical data for the years 2012-2017 were updated as a result of improved information. This included removing sites that should not have been included in previous years, adding sites that should have been included earlier and making any required changes to site size. Further information on this process is available in the Annex along with un-amended historical data for the survey years of 1996-2011.

4. From 2011 Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park took responsibility for surveying vacant and derelict land within the park boundaries. These sites are no longer recorded in Argyll and Bute, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire local authority boundaries, and are separately identifiable as Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park from 2011. Prior to 2011 these sites were classified within the relevant local authority boundary.

5. Previous SVDLS bulletins have used different base years for percentage change and so these percentages should not be compared with those in previous bulletins.

6. Highland has not updated their survey since 2015 so their 2018 figures have been carried over from 2015.

10.6 Glasgow City has consistently had the highest amount of urban vacant land in Scotland for the period 2012-2018. Eight authorities had more than 100 hectares of urban vacant land in 2012, five have recorded 100 hectares or more in 2018 (Chart 5).

Chart 5 – Change in area of Urban Vacant Land in authorities which had 100 hectares or more in 2012

Chart 5 – Change in area of Urban Vacant Land in authorities which had 100 hectares or more in 2012

Contact

Email: Planning_Stats@gov.scot

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