Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2018

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


6. Derelict and Urban Vacant Land: Location and Trends

6.1 In 2018 there were 11,037 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land, of which 82% (9,044 hectares) was classified as derelict. Five councils (East Ayrshire, Highland, North Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire and Glasgow City) together contain just over 60% of all recorded derelict and urban vacant land.

Table 2 - Derelict and Urban Vacant Land by Planning Authority1

Local Authority Derelict Land Urban Vacant Land Total and Urban Vacant Land
Area (ha) % of Derelict Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Urban Vacant Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Total V&D Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites
Aberdeen City 13 * 14 30 2 25 42 0 39
Aberdeenshire 43 * 30 35 2 30 79 1 60
Angus 229 3 26 52 3 22 281 3 48
Argyll and Bute3 38 * 11 20 1 25 58 1 36
Clackmannanshire 46 1 13 11 1 14 57 1 27
Dumfries and Galloway 301 3 46 18 1 7 320 3 53
Dundee City 17 * 18 167 8 162 184 2 180
East Ayrshire 1,736 19 80 74 4 58 1,810 16 138
East Dunbartonshire 43 * 10 26 1 14 69 1 24
East Lothian 78 1 28 10 * 10 88 1 38
East Renfrewshire 34 * 23 18 1 19 52 0 42
City of Edinburgh 88 1 24 77 4 48 165 1 72
Falkirk 208 2 48 69 3 35 277 3 83
Fife 598 7 162 129 6 65 727 7 227
Glasgow City 580 6 276 425 21 445 1,005 9 721
Highland4 1,276 14 103 66 3 81 1,342 12 184
Inverclyde 83 1 51 73 4 56 155 1 107
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park3 6 * 7 1 * 2 7 0 9
Midlothian 107 1 34 11 1 10 117 1 44
Moray 7 * 8 8 * 12 16 0 20
Na h-Eileanan Siar * * 1 8 * 2 8 0 3
North Ayrshire 1,098 12 117 181 9 105 1,279 12 222
North Lanarkshire 1,189 13 403 145 7 99 1,334 12 502
Orkney Islands 32 * 1 . - . 32 0 1
Perth and Kinross3 17 * 25 25 1 7 42 0 32
Renfrewshire 160 2 29 95 5 82 255 2 111
Scottish Borders 45 * 56 22 1 15 68 1 71
Shetland Islands 6 * 6 1 * 2 7 0 8
South Ayrshire 96 1 55 23 1 15 118 1 70
South Lanarkshire 296 3 111 94 5 95 390 4 206
Stirling3 117 1 12 28 1 23 145 1 35
West Dunbartonshire3 152 2 57 16 1 15 168 2 72
West Lothian 304 3 44 37 2 19 341 3 63
Scotland 9,044 100 1,929 1,992 100 1,619 11,037 100 3,548

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. As a percentage of the total vacant/derelict land recorded in Scotland.

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 has not updated their survey since 2015, their 2018 figures have been carried over from 2015.

6.2 3,548 sites were recorded in the 2018 survey. The seventeen largest sites (each over 100 hectares) collectively account for 3,300 hectares - 30% of all recorded derelict and urban vacant land. Those sites, all of which are derelict, include eight of the former opencast coal sites in East Ayrshire (1,240 hectares), Fearn and Fendom Airfields (collectively 681 hectares) and Ardersier Port (255 hectares) in Highland, two sites in North Ayrshire (553 hectares), a former airfield in Dumfries & Galloway (185 hectares), disused railway lines in Angus (166 hectares), the former Ravenscraig site in North Lanarkshire (115 hectares) and the former Royal Ordnance site at Bishopton, Renfrewshire (105 hectares).

In addition, a 170-hectare site, the former airbase at Edzell, Aberdeenshire is not included in the above figures but is noted as a vacant site in a small settlement (Annex Table 2).

6.3 There are 27 hectares of urban vacant and derelict land located within Scotland’s National Parks with 26% (7 hectares) in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs (LLTNP) and 74% (20 hectares) in Cairngorms (CNP).

Table 3 - Derelict and Urban Vacant Land located within Scotland's National Parks1

National Park Derelict Land Urban Vacant Land Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
Area (ha) % of Derelict Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Urban Vacant Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Total V&D Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites
Cairngorms 13 68 9 7 91 7 20 74 16
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs 6 32 7 1 9 2 7 26 9
Total 20 100 16 8 100 9 27 100 25

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. As a percentage of the total vacant/derelict land recorded in Scotland's National Parks.

6.4 There are 5,560 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land located within Scotland’s Strategic Development Plan (SDP) areas.

Table 4 - Derelict and Urban Vacant Land located within Scotland's Strategic Development Plan Areas1

Strategic Development Plan Area Derelict Land Urban Vacant Land Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land
Area (ha) % of Derelict Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Urban Vacant Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites Area (ha) % of Total V&D Land (by Area)2 No. of Sites
Aberdeen City & Shire 56 1 43 65 4 55 121 2 98
Clydeplan 2,537 62 959 891 60 825 3,428 62 1,784
SESplan 1,171 29 304 279 19 158 1,450 26 462
TAYplan 311 8 112 250 17 199 561 10 311
Total 4,075 100 1,418 1,485 100 1,237 5,560 100 2,655

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. As a percentage of total vacant/derelict land recorded in Scotland's Strategic Development Plan Areas.

The SDP areas comprise:

  • Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Plan Area (Aberdeen City and Shire):
  • Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan area (Clydeplan):

Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire local authority areas (except the part of Aberdeenshire that forms part of CNP).

East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire local authority areas (except the part of West Dunbartonshire that forms part of LLTNP).

  • Edinburgh and South East Scotland Strategic Development Plan area (SESplan):

City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, West Lothian and Fife (Kirkcaldy, Mid-Fife and Dunfermline local planning areas only) local authority areas.

  • Dundee, Perth, Angus and North Fife Strategic Development Plan area (TAYplan): Angus (except the part of Angus that forms part of CNP), Dundee City, Perth & Kinross (except the part of Perth & Kinross that forms part of LLTNP) and Fife (St. Andrews and North Fife local planning areas only) local authority areas.

More information about SDP areas is available from Planning Circular 1/2013 on the Scottish Government website.

6.5 Table 5 shows the area of recorded derelict and urban vacant land from 2012 to 2018. A small number of councils did not participate in every survey during those years. In these cases, the previous years’ data is rolled forward until new data becomes available. Highland has not updated their data since 2015 so data for Highland is carried over from 2015 in this report. Details of participation in the survey is available in Annex Table 5.

6.6 Since the last survey there has been a net decrease of 716 hectares (6%) in Scotland’s total amount of derelict and urban vacant land, from 11,753 hectares in 2017 to 11,037 hectares in 2018. This net change is caused by the rehabilitation and reuse of some sites and others becoming vacant or derelict. In addition, there have been changes in the recorded areas of existing sites while other sites have become naturalised.

6.7 The total amount of derelict and urban vacant land in Scotland has shown a net decrease of 3% since 2012 (from 11,342 hectares in 2012 to 11,037 hectares in 2018). Excluding derelict mineral sites, the total amount of derelict and urban vacant land has decreased from 9,413 hectares in 2012 to 7,973 hectares in 2018 (15% decrease).

6.8 Changes in the recorded areas of derelict and urban vacant land vary by council. 24 councils had decreases in levels of recorded derelict and urban vacant land, including Renfrewshire (down 74%), Midlothian (down 57%) and Dumfries and Galloway (down 35%). Eight councils recorded more in 2018 than they did in 2012, including East Ayrshire with more than four times as much and Clackmannanshire with more than double the area recorded for 2012. Percentage changes for some councils are volatile due to there being only a small base of recorded land in 2012.

Table 5 - Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land by Planning Authority, 2012-20181,2,3

Local Authority Total Derelict and Urban Vacant Land Area (ha) % Change 2012-20185
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Aberdeen City 54 52 46 38 38 35 42 -21%
Aberdeenshire 83 75 71 71 79 80 79 -5%
Angus 173 173 183 164 142 144 281 62%
Argyll and Bute4 34 34 31 59 58 58 58 67%
Clackmannanshire 21 28 36 32 74 64 57 170%
Dumfries and Galloway 492 492 491 463 465 320 320 -35%
Dundee City 187 196 211 215 204 182 184 -2%
East Ayrshire 335 351 2,553 2,541 2,457 2,401 1,810 441%
East Dunbartonshire 71 66 62 71 77 76 69 -3%
East Lothian 71 72 70 91 95 92 88 25%
East Renfrewshire 55 60 60 55 55 51 52 -5%
City of Edinburgh 211 213 208 184 168 178 165 -22%
Falkirk 159 173 187 200 246 286 277 74%
Fife 927 935 940 731 728 729 727 -22%
Glasgow City 1,239 1,196 1,171 1,145 1,111 1,069 1,005 -19%
Highland6 1,455 1,382 1,373 1,342 1,342 1,342 1,342 -8%
Inverclyde 141 149 146 163 160 156 155 10%
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park4 19 30 30 27 27 27 7 n/a
Midlothian 271 271 216 199 191 120 117 -57%
Moray 17 22 21 15 15 15 16 -10%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 -22%
North Ayrshire 1,355 1,349 1,356 1,346 1,341 1,346 1,279 -6%
North Lanarkshire 1,374 1,304 1,298 1,263 1,228 1,283 1,334 -3%
Orkney Islands 41 39 39 39 39 39 32 -23%
Perth and Kinross4 50 53 56 56 49 42 42 -16%
Renfrewshire 981 957 927 913 860 272 255 -74%
Scottish Borders 86 82 76 75 75 70 68 -22%
Shetland Islands 8 8 7 6 6 7 7 -15%
South Ayrshire 97 102 101 107 106 105 118 21%
South Lanarkshire 470 475 472 461 411 422 390 -17%
Stirling4 177 175 164 163 152 148 145 -18%
West Dunbartonshire4 193 188 189 182 171 165 168 -13%
West Lothian 485 485 491 420 420 420 341 -30%
Scotland 11,342 11,200 13,291 12,846 12,597 11,753 11,037 -3%

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. See Annex Table 5 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, their 2018 figures have been carried over from 2015.

Contact

Email: Planning_Stats@gov.scot

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