Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2018

12. Derelict and Urban Vacant Land: New, Reclaimed and Naturalised Sites

12.1 There were 137 hectares (72 sites) of newly identified derelict land since the previous survey. Over half of the total area (75 hectares across 15 sites) was in North Lanarkshire. There were 51 hectares (63 sites) of newly identified urban vacant land since the previous survey. The largest area was also in North Lanarkshire, 14 hectares across 14 sites. These figures relate only to new sites first identified as vacant or derelict in the latest survey. They do not include sites listed in the previous survey which changed in size or changed from derelict to vacant or vice versa (Table 18).

12.2 A total of 350 hectares (318 sites) were reclaimed or brought back into use since the previous survey, excluding those sites removed for definitional reasons or due to naturalisation. 185 hectares (135 sites) was previously derelict and 165 hectares (183 sites) had been recorded as urban vacant land (Table 19).

12.3 Reclaimed sites relate only to sites (or parts thereof) which were brought back into use. Sites removed due to naturalisation or for definitional reasons are not included. In 2018 33 sites (632 hectares) of formerly derelict and urban vacant land were removed due to naturalisation – including over 600 hectares of former surface coal sites in East Ayrshire where the restoration plans had been completed (Table 21). In addition, 29 sites (36 hectares) were removed for definitional reasons - further details can be found in Annex C.

12.4 The most common new use for previously derelict land was for residential development, with 48% of sites (65 of 135) and 58% of the total area (107 of 185 hectares) reclaimed for this purpose (Table 20).

12.5 For urban vacant land the most common new use was also residential development with 54% of sites (98 of 183) and 53% of the total area brought back into use (87 of 165 hectares) (Table 20).

12.6 In 2018 the source of funding was known for 282 hectares of land brought back into use and 26 hectares were listed as having no funding or funding not being applicable. The source of funding was unknown for the remaining 42 hectares brought back into use.

12.7 The largest area brought back into use with known sources of funding involved private sector funding (173 of 282 hectares, 61%). Public sector funding accounted for 62 hectares (22%) and mixed public and private funding was used for 47 hectares (17%). South Lanarkshire (33 hectares) and North Ayrshire (28 hectares) had the greatest areas brought back into use with only private funding, North Lanarkshire (15 hectares) and West Lothian (14 hectares) reported the largest areas brought back into use with only public funding (Table 22).

12.8 For land receiving public or mixed public/private funding the largest area of new use was for residential development (65 hectares). For solely privately funded land the largest area of new use was also for residential development (103 hectares).

Table 18 - New sites identified since the previous survey by planning Authority^1,2

Local Authority	Derelict Land		Urban Vacant Land		Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
	Area (ha)	No. of Sites	Area (ha)	No. of Sites	Area (ha)	No. of Sites
Aberdeen City	-	-	7	5	7	5
Aberdeenshire	2	6	2	2	4	8
Angus	-	-	2	4	2	4
Argyll and Bute3	-	-	*	1	*	1
Clackmannanshire	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dundee City	5	3	4	3	9	6
East Ayrshire	-	-	-	-	-
East Dunbartonshire	-	-	2	1	2	1
East Lothian	1	3	*	2	1	5
East Renfrewshire	-	-	1	2	1	2
City of Edinburgh	-	-	4	5	4	5
Falkirk	5	4	*	1	6	5
Fife	-	-	-	-	-	-
Glasgow City	-	-	4	5	4	5
Highland4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Inverclyde	5	5	6	4	11	9
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park3	-	-	-	-	-	-
Midlothian	1	2	2	4	3	6
Moray	-	-	-	-	-	-
Na h-Eileanan Siar	-	-	-	-	-	-
North Ayrshire	5	1	*	1	5	2
North Lanarkshire	75	15	11	14	86	29
Orkney Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-
Perth and Kinross3	2	7	*	1	2	8
Renfrewshire	-	-	-	-	-	-
Scottish Borders	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shetland Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	12	14	*	1	12	15
South Lanarkshire	13	5	4	4	17	9
Stirling3	-	-	-	-	-	-
West Dunbartonshire3	8	4	-	-	8	4
West Lothian	2	3	2	3	4	6
Scotland	137	72	51	63	187	135

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. Sites identified since the previous survey but recorded as initially falling out of use prior to 2017 are not included in the above table.

3. 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.

4. Highland did not complete a survey in 2018 therefore there is no information on new sites.

Table 19 - Derelict Land reclaimed and Urban Vacant Land brought back into use since the previous survey^1,4

Local Authority	Derelict Land			Urban Vacant Land			Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
	Area (ha)	% of Derelict Land (by Area)	No. of Sites5	Area (ha)	% of Urban Vacant Land (by Area)	No. of Sites5	Area (ha)	% of Total Land (by Area)	No. of Sites5
Aberdeen City	*	*	1	-	-	-	*	*	1
Aberdeenshire	2	1	2	2	1	3	4	1	5
Angus	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Argyll and Bute2	*	*	1	*	*	1	*	*	2
Clackmannanshire	2	1	2	6	4	2	8	2	4
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dundee City	-	-	-	8	5	12	8	2	12
East Ayrshire	11	6	4	3	2	6	13	4	10
East Dunbartonshire	3	1	2	*	*	1	3	1	3
East Lothian	1	1	4	4	3	1	6	2	5
East Renfrewshire	-	-	-	*	*	1	*	*	1
City of Edinburgh	5	3	3	25	15	17	30	9	20
Falkirk	5	3	1	6	4	4	11	3	5
Fife	1	1	3	*	*	1	2	*	4
Glasgow City	37	20	23	28	17	39	65	19	62
Highland3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Inverclyde	3	2	2	5	3	7	8	2	9
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park2	*	*	1	*	*	1	*	*	2
Midlothian	1	*	2	2	1	1	2	1	3
Moray	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Na h-Eileanan Siar	*	*	1	*	*	1	*	*	2
North Ayrshire	18	10	14	16	10	24	34	10	38
North Lanarkshire	31	17	34	7	4	9	38	11	43
Orkney Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Perth and Kinross2	-	-	-	1	1	1	1	*	1
Renfrewshire	12	7	6	4	2	10	16	5	16
Scottish Borders	2	1	2	1	*	3	2	1	5
Shetland Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	*	*	1	2	1	4	2	1	5
South Lanarkshire	23	12	16	23	14	21	46	13	37
Stirling2	-	-	-	3	2	3	3	1	3
West Dunbartonshire2	4	2	4	1	*	1	4	1	5
West Lothian	23	12	6	18	11	9	41	12	15
Scotland	185	100	135	165	100	183	350	100	318

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. 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.

3. Highland did not complete a survey in 2018 and therefore there is no information on reclaimed or reused sites.

4. Excludes naturalised sites and sites that have been removed as they no longer meet the required definitions for derelict or urban vacant land.

5. The number of sites refers to the number of packages of land classed as reused and may not directly correspond a full site that was previously listed as vacant or derelict. For example if a previously vacant site was partly reused for residential and partly for passive open space while the remainder was still classed as vacant it would be listed as 2 separate reused sites in the table and also still remain on the 2018 vacant land register.

Table 20 - Reclaimed Derelict Land and Urban Vacant land brought back into use since the previous survey - by new use^1,5

New Use	Derelict Land			Urban Vacant Land			Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
	Area (ha)	% of Derelict Land (by Area)4	No. of Sites6	Area (ha)	% of Urban Vacant Land (by Area)4	No. of Sites6	Area (ha)	% of Total Land (by Area)4	No. of Sites6
Agriculture	5	3	3	1	*	1	5	2	4
Business Class	-	-	-	3	2	2	3	1	2
Community & Health	-	-	-	1	*	2	1	*	2
Defence	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Education	-	-	-	7	4	3	7	2	3
Green/Environmental	*	*	1	10	6	6	11	3	7
Manufacturing	1	*	2	3	2	2	4	1	4
Mineral Activity	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Offices	2	1	6	7	4	8	9	3	14
Other General Industry2	6	3	8	5	3	9	11	3	17
Passive Open Space	12	6	9	10	6	7	21	6	16
Recreation & Leisure3	3	2	5	7	4	5	10	3	10
Residential	107	58	65	87	53	98	194	55	163
Retailing	5	3	7	6	4	10	12	3	17
Storage	8	4	12	3	2	3	11	3	15
Transport	8	4	8	7	5	16	15	4	24
Utility Services	5	3	5	3	2	6	9	2	11
Wholesale Distribution	-	-	-	4	2	2	4	1	2
Woodland (Community-Based)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Woodland (Non-Community-Based)	23	12	2	-	-	-	23	6	2
Other	*	*	2	2	1	3	2	1	5
Unknown4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	185	100	135	165	100	183	350	100	318

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. Excluding Manufacturing.

3. Excluding Passive Open Space.

4. Unknown values are excluded from the calculation of percentages.

5. Excludes naturalised sites and sites that have been removed as they no longer meet the required definitions for derelict or urban vacant land.

6. The number of sites refers to packages of land classed as reused and may not directly correspond to a site previously listed as vacant or derelict. For example if a previously vacant site was partly reused for residential and partly for passive open space while the remainder was still classed as vacant it would be listed as 2 separate reused sites in the table and also still remain on the 2018 vacant land register.

Table 21 - Sites classed as naturalised¹

Local Authority	Derelict Land		Urban Vacant Land		Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
	Area (ha)	No. of Sites	Area (ha)	No. of Sites	Area (ha)	No. of Sites
East Ayrshire	576	4	1	1	577	5
Falkirk	3	1	-	-	3	1
Fife	1	1	-	-	1	1
Midlothian	1	1	2	1	3	2
North Ayrshire	37	17	2	1	39	18
North Lanarkshire	5	3	-	-	5	3
South Lanarkshire	-	-	4	3	4	3
All	624	27	8	6	632	33

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Table 22 - Sources of funding used for Derelict Land reclaimed and Urban Vacant Land brought back into use since the previous survey, by local authority area^1,5

Local Authority	Public sector funding (ha)	Private sector funding (ha)	Mixed funding2 (ha)	Unknown (ha)	None / not applicable (ha)	Total (ha)
Aberdeen City	-	*	-	-	-	*
Aberdeenshire	1	2	-	-	2	4
Angus	-	-	-	-	-	-
Argyll and Bute3	-	*	-	*	-	*
Clackmannanshire	*	7	1	-	-	8
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dundee City	1	1	6	*	1	8
East Ayrshire	-	11	-	1	1	13
East Dunbartonshire	-	3	-	-	-	3
East Lothian	*	4	-	1	-	6
East Renfrewshire	*	-	-	-	-	*
City of Edinburgh	9	15	5	-	1	30
Falkirk	6	5	-	-	-	11
Fife	-	-	-	-	2	2
Glasgow City	5	12	28	19	1	65
Highland4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Inverclyde	-	8	-	-	-	8
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park3	*	-	-	-	-	*
Midlothian	-	2	-	-	-	2
Moray	-	-	-	-	-	-
Na h-Eileanan Siar	-	-	-	*	-	*
North Ayrshire	2	28	*	3	-	34
North Lanarkshire	15	22	-	-	2	38
Orkney Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-
Perth and Kinross3	-	1	-	-	-	1
Renfrewshire	-	-	-	-	16	16
Scottish Borders	-	2	-	-	-	2
Shetland Islands	-	-	-	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	1	1	1	-	-	2
South Lanarkshire	7	33	3	-	2	46
Stirling3	1	3	-	-	-	3
West Dunbartonshire3	-	1	3	-	-	4
West Lothian	14	11	-	16	-	41
Scotland	62	173	47	42	26	350

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. Mixed public and private sector funding or partnership.

3. 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.

4. Highland did not complete a survey in 2018 and therefore there is no information for sources of funding.

5. Excludes naturalised sites and sites that have been removed as they no longer meet the required definitions for derelict or urban vacant land.

Chart 6 - Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land Reclaimed 2012-2018

12.9 The amount of derelict land reclaimed has varied over the period 2012 to 2018, with the lowest amount reclaimed in 2012 (134 hectares) and the largest (688 hectares) reclaimed in 2017. The amount of urban vacant land reused has also varied over the period 2012 to 2018 but to a lesser degree, with the lowest amount reused in 2014 (122 hectares) and the largest (169 hectares) in 2017 (Table 23).

12.10 On average, 192 hectares of derelict land per year was reclaimed between 2012 and 2016. In 2017 there was a notable increase with 688 hectares of derelict land reclaimed on 129 sites, 506 hectares from a single site (former Royal Ordnance site at Bishopton, Renfrewshire). In 2018 185 hectares were reclaimed. Between 2012 and 2017 an average of 151 hectares of urban vacant land was reused per year. In 2018 165 hectares of urban vacant land were reclaimed, slightly higher than the average.

Table 23 - Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land reclaimed, 2012-2018^1,2,3,4

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Derelict Land (ha)	134	239	207	205	174	688	185
Total Sites5	92	133	123	119	125	129	135
Urban Vacant Land (ha)	153	164	122	150	146	169	165
Total Sites5	141	188	140	194	154	188	183
Total Area Reclaimed (Derelict & Urban Vacant)	288	404	329	356	320	857	350
Total Sites5	233	321	263	313	279	317	318

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. Excludes naturalised sites and sites that have been removed as they no longer meet the required definitions for derelict or urban vacant land.

5. The number of sites refers to the number of packages of land classed as reused and may not directly correspond a full site that was previously listed as vacant or derelict. For example if a previously vacant or derelict site was partly reused for residential and partly for passive open space while the remainder was still classed as vacant it would be listed as 2 separate reused sites in the table and also still remain on the vacant and derelict land register.

12.11 A total of 402 hectares of formerly derelict and urban vacant land has been removed from the survey with the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) making either a partial or full contribution (Table 24).

12.12 Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire have been in receipt of this fund since it started in 2005/06, South Lanarkshire since 2006/07. Dundee City, which had been in receipt of the funds from 2005/6 was replaced by Fife in 2015/16. Highland joined in 2008/09 but was replaced by North Ayrshire in 2016/17.

12.13 Glasgow City has the largest area of re-used land where VDLF funding was used, 132 hectares (72 sites). North Ayrshire have recorded their first use of VDLF funding during this survey. Any involvement the VDLF has had with existing sites in the 2018 survey (i.e. those not yet removed from the survey) is not recorded in Table 24, but will appear when the sites are bought back into use in the future.

Table 24 - Reclaimed/Re-used Sites where the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) was a funding source^1,2,3

Local Authority	Properties within 500m of land reclaimed using VDLF
	1 Site Only	2 Sites Only	3 Sites +	Total
Dundee City3	12,200	8,700	20,500	41,400
Fife	700	-	-	700
Glasgow City4,6	31,800	15,600	12,700	60,100
Highland	14,200	2,000	100	16,300
North Ayrshire	900	-	-	900
North Lanarkshire	17,500	3,800	3,000	24,300
South Lanarkshire5	11,300	2,300	4,200	17,800
Total	88,600	32,400	40,500	161,500

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. The Scottish Government Vacant and Derelict Land Fund contributed either partially or fully to the reclamation or reuse of the sites shown in the above table. This includes money used to prepare the land for development, e.g. decontamination.

3. Any involvement the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund has had with existing sites in the 2017 Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (those not yet removed from the survey) is not recorded in the above table.

4. The number of sites refers to the number of packages of land classed as reused and may not directly correspond a full site that was previously listed as vacant or derelict. For example if a previously vacant or derelict site was partly reused for residential and partly for passive open space while the remainder was still classed as vacant it would be listed as 2 separate reused sites in the table and also still remain on the vacant and derelict land register.

12.14 Across the seven councils in the VDLF for 2005-2018, an estimated 161,500 properties (both private households and communal establishments^[*]) were within 500 metres of land reclaimed with the involvement of the VDLF(either solely or in combination with other funds) (Table 25). Of those properties, 55% (88,600) were within 500 metres of 1 site reclaimed with the involvement of the VDLF, 20% (32,400) were within 500 metres of 2 reclaimed sites, and the remaining 25% (40,500) were within 500 metres of at least 3 reclaimed sites. To date, the largest number of properties in close proximity to land reclaimed using the VDLF is located within Glasgow City (60,100 properties). North Ayrshire who recorded their first use of VDLF funding during this survey have an estimated 900 properties within 500 metres of sites reclaimed with VDLF funding.

12.15 Overall, 50% of the 161,500 properties within 500 metres of land reclaimed using the VDLF were situated within Scotland's 15% most deprived data zones (81,400 properties); the remaining (80,100 properties) were located outwith the 15% most deprived data zones (Table 26). The percentage of properties in close proximity to land reclaimed using the VDLF that were situated within the 15% most deprived data zones varied between councils. Glasgow City had the highest percentage (67%, 40,400 of 60,100 properties), Highland had the lowest (23%, 3,700 of 16,300 properties).

Table 25 - Estimate of the number of properties within 500 metres of at least 1 site reclaimed using the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF)^[1,2,3],7,8

Local Authority	Properties within 500m of land reclaimed using VDLF
	1 Site Only	2 Sites Only	3 Sites +	Total
Dundee City3	12,200	8,700	20,500	41,400
Fife	700	-	-	700
Glasgow City4,6	31,800	15,600	12,700	60,100
Highland	14,200	2,000	100	16,300
North Ayrshire	900	-	-	900
North Lanarkshire	17,500	3,800	3,000	24,300
South Lanarkshire5	11,300	2,300	4,200	17,800
Total	88,600	32,400	40,500	161,500

1. Properties based on National Records of Scotland Address Register data 2018. See Annex Note A.8 for further information.

2. Any involvement the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund has had with existing sites in the 2018 Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (those not yet removed from the survey) is not recorded in the table above.

3. A further estimated 60 properties within Angus and Perth & Kinross are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Dundee City boundaries.

4. An estimated further 20 properties within Renfrewshire are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Glasgow City boundaries.

5. An estimated 800 of the properties are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Glasgow City boundaries.

6. An estimated 1,100 of the properties are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within South Lanarkshire boundaries.

7. Properties that are estimated to have been built on the reclaimed site have been removed from this analysis.

8. The number of sites refers to the number of packages of land classed as reused and may not directly correspond a full site that was previously listed as vacant or derelict. For example if a previously vacant or derelict site was partly reused for residential and partly for passive open space while the remainder was still classed as vacant it would be listed as 2 separate reused sites in the table and also still remain on the vacant and derelict land register.

Table 26 - Estimate of the number of properties within 500 metres of at least 1 site reclaimed using the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF), split by deprivation^[1,2,3]

Local Authority	Properties within 500m of land reclaimed using VDLF -
	Within 15% Most Deprived Datazones	Outwith 15% most Deprived Datazones	Total	Percent of Properties near remediated land within 15% most deprived datazones
Dundee City4	18,500	22,900	41,400	45%
Fife	200	500	700	29%
Glasgow City5,7	40,400	19,700	60,100	67%
Highland	3,700	12,600	16,300	23%
North Ayrshire	500	400	900	56%
North Lanarkshire	10,100	14,200	24,300	42%
South Lanarkshire6	8,000	9,800	17,800	45%
Total	81,400	80,100	161,500	50%

1. Properties based on National Records of Scotland Address Register data 2018.

2. Any involvement the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund has had with existing sites in the 2018 Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (those not yet removed from the survey) is not recorded in the table above.

3. Properties that are estimated to have been built on the reclaimed site have been removed from this analysis.

4. A further estimated 60 properties within Angus and Perth & Kinross are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Dundee City boundaries.

5. An estimated 20 properties within Renfrewshire are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Glasgow City boundaries.

6. An estimated 800 of the properties are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within Glasgow City boundaries.

7. An estimated 1,100 of the properties are located within 500 metres of a reclaimed derelict site within South Lanarkshire boundaries.