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

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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