Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2018
Data collection undertaken to establish the extent and state of vacant and derelict land in Scotland.
8. Derelict Land: People’s Proximity to Derelict Land
8.1 This section focuses exclusively on derelict land and people’s proximity to such sites throughout Scotland. It reports on peoples proximity to derelict land and not their exposure to it.
8.2 29.1% of Scotland’s population is estimated to live within 500 metres of a derelict site. A further 24.0% are estimated to live between 500 metres and 1,000 metres of a derelict site with the remaining 46.8% living at least 1,000 metres from a derelict site (Table 9).
8.3 People’s proximity to derelict land varies significantly by authority (Table 9, Map 1). For example, 60.1% of Glasgow City and Inverclyde’s population is estimated to live within 500 metres of a derelict site, whereas the figure for City of Edinburgh is 7.5%. Other councils with a higher proportion of their population living close to derelict land than the 29.1% average figure for Scotland include North Lanarkshire (74.6%), Inverclyde (60.1%) and West Dunbartonshire (57.9%). The populations of the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands are least likely to be living close to derelict land, both with less than 1% of the population estimated to live within 500 metres of a derelict site.
8.4 In 2012, an estimated 30.9% of Scotland’s population lived within 500 metres of a derelict site. This has decreased slightly to 29.1% in 2018 (Table 10).
8.5 The notable decrease recorded in Orkney in 2014 is due to the removal of eight sites, seven for definitional reasons and one for retail development.
8.6 The increase recorded in Inverclyde in 2016 is due to the addition of three new sites all close to residential areas and changes made to site types for several older (pre 2001) sites from vacant to derelict as well as increases in the size of some older sites. The increase in Dumfries and Galloway in 2017 is due to the addition of 16 new derelict sites (52 Hectares).
8.7 Between 2012 and 2013, the percentage of Scotland’s population that were estimated to live within 500 metres of a site that was derelict prior to 1991 fell from 14.2% to 12.2%. From 2013, long term derelict sites were considered to be those recorded as derelict prior to 2001. For the years 2013 to 2018 the percentage of Scotland’s population that were estimated to live within 500 metres of a site that was derelict prior to 2001 fell from 16.4% to 14.9%.
8.8 People’s proximity to long term derelict land varies significantly by authority. Those councils with the largest percentage of people within 500 metres of a site derelict before 2001 are Glasgow City (39.4%), West Dunbartonshire (38.3%), Inverclyde (33.2%) and North Lanarkshire (32.4%).
8.9 Four local authorities show an increase in population estimated to live within 500 metres of a site that was derelict prior to 2001 compared to the previous year. Increases in proximity to pre-1991 and 2001 sites are usually caused either by the entry of newly identified sites that have been derelict for a long time, or where old sites change type from vacant to derelict. New residential developments also have a small effect.
Table 9 - Estimated percentage of local authority population living within various distances of Derelict Land, 20181
| Local Authority | Population2 | Distance from Derelict Land in 20183 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 500m | 500m to Less than 1,000m | 1,000m or further | ||
| Aberdeen City | 228,800 | 23.3 | 22.1 | 54.6 |
| Aberdeenshire | 261,800 | 11.1 | 12.8 | 76.2 |
| Angus | 116,280 | 19.1 | 22.6 | 58.3 |
| Argyll and Bute | 86,810 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 81.8 |
| Clackmannanshire | 51,450 | 28.5 | 33.2 | 38.3 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 149,200 | 21.3 | 21.1 | 57.6 |
| Dundee City | 148,710 | 32.5 | 43.5 | 24.0 |
| East Ayrshire | 121,940 | 22.8 | 24.0 | 53.1 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 108,130 | 7.7 | 25.1 | 67.2 |
| East Lothian | 104,840 | 17.0 | 28.7 | 54.3 |
| East Renfrewshire | 94,760 | 21.8 | 24.6 | 53.5 |
| City of Edinburgh | 513,210 | 7.5 | 17.4 | 75.2 |
| Falkirk | 160,130 | 27.1 | 40.1 | 32.8 |
| Fife | 371,410 | 30.0 | 29.6 | 40.5 |
| Glasgow City | 621,020 | 60.1 | 32.8 | 7.1 |
| Highland4 | 235,180 | 12.5 | 13.9 | 73.6 |
| Inverclyde | 78,760 | 60.1 | 22.9 | 17.1 |
| Midlothian | 90,090 | 19.2 | 29.6 | 51.2 |
| Moray | 95,780 | 9.2 | 19.9 | 70.9 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 26,950 | 1.6 | 5.8 | 92.6 |
| North Ayrshire | 135,790 | 43.5 | 33.8 | 22.7 |
| North Lanarkshire | 339,960 | 74.6 | 21.3 | 4.1 |
| Orkney Islands | 22,000 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 99.8 |
| Perth and Kinross | 151,100 | 9.9 | 22.2 | 67.9 |
| Renfrewshire | 176,830 | 25.9 | 29.0 | 45.1 |
| Scottish Borders | 115,020 | 39.1 | 14.0 | 46.9 |
| Shetland Islands | 23,080 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 94.3 |
| South Ayrshire | 112,680 | 37.7 | 21.7 | 40.5 |
| South Lanarkshire | 318,170 | 26.5 | 23.8 | 49.7 |
| Stirling | 94,000 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 84.6 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 89,610 | 57.9 | 31.6 | 10.5 |
| West Lothian | 181,310 | 14.6 | 21.4 | 64.0 |
| Scotland | 5,424,800 | 29.1 | 24.0 | 46.8 |
1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
2. Population figures used for each local authority are the 2017 mid-year estimates published by NRS.
3. Information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.8.
4. Highland has not updated their survey since 2015 so their 2018 figures have been calculated using figures from 2015.
Map 1 - Percentage of population within 500m of a derelict site, 2018
Table 10 – Estimated percentage of local authority population living within 500m of derelict land, 2012-21081,2,3
| Local Authority | % of Population within 500m of any Derelict Site | % of Population within 500m of long term derelict land | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prior to 1991 | prior to 2001 | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2012 | 2013 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Aberdeen City | 35.8 | 31.3 | 27.8 | 26.4 | 26.6 | 24.4 | 23.3 | 7.4 | 4.8 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 5.0 |
| Aberdeenshire | 7.7 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Angus | 17.3 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 18.9 | 21.1 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 11.4 | 10.0 | 12.3 | 12.3 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 9.7 | 9.6 |
| Argyll and Bute | 12.6 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Clackmannanshire | 24.2 | 22.8 | 31.7 | 35.0 | 36.0 | 34.1 | 28.5 | 12.1 | 10.3 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.0 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 9.2 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 11.7 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 21.4 | 21.3 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Dundee City | 29.2 | 27.8 | 30.2 | 31.4 | 31.9 | 28.8 | 32.5 | 12.0 | 10.2 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 16.5 |
| East Ayrshire | 28.9 | 28.1 | 28.0 | 28.0 | 28.2 | 26.2 | 22.8 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 10.4 | 10.5 | 8.8 | 8.7 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 20.1 | 20.8 | 18.4 | 16.4 | 19.4 | 19.6 | 7.7 | 14.4 | 13.7 | 15.2 | 15.2 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.2 | 7.6 |
| East Lothian | 17.6 | 16.2 | 18.7 | 17.9 | 17.9 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 18.8 | 18.7 | 13.2 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 7.3 |
| East Renfrewshire | 26.5 | 23.6 | 22.5 | 22.3 | 22.6 | 22.0 | 21.8 | 11.2 | 8.6 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 12.0 |
| City of Edinburgh | 17.9 | 16.7 | 15.2 | 13.7 | 13.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Falkirk | 12.7 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 13.0 | 24.3 | 25.1 | 27.1 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 11.6 | 13.3 | 10.4 |
| Fife | 28.8 | 25.7 | 28.0 | 27.9 | 29.6 | 29.1 | 30.0 | 5.1 | 3.5 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 12.5 | 12.3 |
| Glasgow City | 60.6 | 59.1 | 57.5 | 61.8 | 61.1 | 61.7 | 60.1 | 41.7 | 35.9 | 40.3 | 40.2 | 40.6 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 39.4 |
| Highland4 | 20.9 | 13.9 | 15.2 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 13.7 | 9.0 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| Inverclyde | 28.2 | 34.7 | 34.1 | 35.0 | 54.0 | 56.0 | 60.1 | 19.1 | 18.1 | 24.0 | 24.1 | 22.8 | 32.6 | 33.3 | 33.2 |
| Midlothian | 45.9 | 45.5 | 41.4 | 36.4 | 36.7 | 20.4 | 19.2 | 36.5 | 35.9 | 33.9 | 33.7 | 29.0 | 27.9 | 17.0 | 10.7 |
| Moray | 6.5 | 13.2 | 14.8 | 15.0 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| North Ayrshire | 43.3 | 39.3 | 39.9 | 39.5 | 39.3 | 39.7 | 43.5 | 18.7 | 18.1 | 23.3 | 23.5 | 21.0 | 20.8 | 20.8 | 18.3 |
| North Lanarkshire | 62.1 | 67.0 | 69.6 | 73.5 | 73.4 | 75.8 | 74.6 | 23.9 | 23.7 | 33.9 | 33.9 | 34.0 | 34.6 | 33.6 | 32.4 |
| Orkney Islands | 23.9 | 22.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| Perth and Kinross | 20.8 | 20.4 | 16.4 | 15.2 | 14.8 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 5.3 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Renfrewshire | 33.1 | 31.9 | 21.1 | 30.9 | 31.2 | 26.3 | 25.9 | 10.8 | 9.5 | 21.1 | 21.1 | 21.2 | 21.5 | 17.3 | 15.0 |
| Scottish Borders | 43.6 | 40.9 | 38.4 | 38.4 | 40.2 | 38.9 | 39.1 | 16.4 | 15.1 | 23.0 | 22.9 | 22.8 | 22.5 | 20.4 | 20.2 |
| Shetland Islands | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| South Ayrshire | 22.5 | 24.8 | 25.0 | 30.9 | 33.0 | 32.5 | 37.7 | 6.1 | 5.0 | 16.2 | 16.2 | 16.2 | 20.4 | 20.5 | 20.7 |
| South Lanarkshire | 28.8 | 28.3 | 28.0 | 27.9 | 26.7 | 28.9 | 26.5 | 11.5 | 9.8 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 13.1 | 12.7 | 13.5 | 13.4 |
| Stirling | 18.6 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 10.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 59.5 | 60.7 | 62.1 | 64.0 | 61.7 | 57.5 | 57.9 | 37.9 | 36.2 | 41.1 | 41.4 | 42.3 | 40.5 | 39.6 | 38.3 |
| West Lothian | 25.7 | 24.7 | 20.3 | 20.0 | 20.1 | 19.9 | 14.6 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 8.8 |
| Scotland | 30.9 | 29.7 | 28.9 | 29.7 | 30.3 | 29.8 | 29.1 | 14.2 | 12.2 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 15.7 | 15.6 | 15.4 | 14.9 |
1. See Annex D for details of council participation in different years.
2. Population figures used for each local authority are the 2017 mid-year estimates published by NRS.
3. Information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.8.
4. Highland has not updated their survey since 2015 so their 2018 figures have been carried over from 2015.
Contact
Email: Planning_Stats@gov.scot
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