Scottish Vacant And Derelict Land Survey 2021

6. Derelict and Urban Vacant Land: Location and Trends

6.1 In 2021 there were 9,459 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land, of which 80% (7,561 hectares) was classified as derelict. Five councils (North Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, Glasgow, East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway) together contain over 50% of all recorded derelict and urban vacant land.

General notes - at sections 3 and 4 apply.

Specific note 20 - Glasgow conducted a partial survey in 2021 and some sites were recorded as re-used but no new sites were added due to difficulty with resource for the survey. Dundee City and West Lothian have not updated their survey since 2019 so no new data is available on new site in 2021. Details of survey return rates back to 2015 are shown at Annex D.

Specific note 24 - six authorities reported various impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their survey return in 2021. More details are provided at sections 3 and 4. These impacts should be borne in mind when using and interpreting the figures for these authorities in the year 2021, when comparing the 2021 figure to other years and when interpreting the Scotland total for 2021.

6.2 3,398 sites were recorded in the 2021 survey. There are ten sites with an area over 100 hectares and together these account for more than a fifth (22%, 2,162 hectares) of all derelict and urban vacant land. All of those sites are derelict and the largest are Eastriggs former Ministry of Defence depot in Dumfries and Galloway (432 hectares), a former explosives factory in Ardeer, North Ayrshire (332 hectares) and the Port of Arderseir in Highland (302 hectares).

In addition, a 160-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 18 hectares of urban vacant and derelict land located within Scotland’s National Parks with 39% (7 hectares) in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs (LLTNP) and 61% (11 hectares) in Cairngorms (CNP).

General notes - at sections 3 and 4 apply.

6.4 There are 5,369 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land located within Scotland’s Strategic Development Plan (SDP) areas.

General notes - at sections 3 and 4 apply.

Specific note 20 - Glasgow conducted a partial survey in 2021 and some sites were recorded as re-used but no new sites were added due to difficulty with resource for the survey. Dundee City and West Lothian have not updated their survey since 2019 so no new data is available on new site in 2021. Details of survey return rates back to 2015 are shown at Annex D.

Specific note 24 – some authorities reported various impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their survey return in 2021. More details are provided at sections 3 and 4. These impacts should be borne in mind when using and interpreting the figures for these authorities in the year 2021, when comparing the 2021 figure to other years and when interpreting the Scotland total for 2021.

The SDP areas comprise:

• Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Plan Area (Aberdeen City and Shire):

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

• Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan area (Clydeplan):

  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 of Loch Lomond and The Trosschs National Park).

• 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 Cairngorms National Park), Dundee City, Perth and Kinross (except the part of Perth and Kinross that forms part of Loch Lomond and The Trosschs National Park) and Fife (St. Andrews and North Fife local planning areas only) local authority areas.

6.5 There has been a net decrease of 1,809 hectares (16%) in Scotland’s total amount of derelict and urban vacant land, from 11,268 hectares in 2020 to 9,459 hectares in 2021. The decrease has been driven by the reclaiming and naturalisation some large formerly derelict sites. Note, however, that some councils were unable to conduct a full survey due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and have not added new sites.There was a more gradual downward trend from 2015 to 2019 showing a decrease of 15% over four years.

6.6 Most councils had decreases in levels of recorded derelict and urban vacant land since 2015, including Renfrewshire (down 78%), East Ayrshire (down 66%) and Highland (down 53%). Nine councils recorded more in 2021 than they did in 2015, including Aberdeen City with a 148% increase and Angus with a 92% increase.

6.7 Particular care should be taken when interpreting the data for 2020 as eight authorities were unable to complete a survey return mainly due to COVID-19 Pandemic related restrictions and results have been rolled over from 2019. This will affect the figures for each of these authorities, the Scotland total and any comparison with other years. More detailed information on this is presented in section 4 of the publication and in the notes accompanying tables, chart and annexes.

General notes - at sections 3 and 4 apply.

Specific note 4 - during 2021, historical data for the years 2015-2020 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 2000-2014.

Specific note 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.

Specific note 20 - Glasgow conducted a partial survey in 2021 and some sites were recorded as re-used but no new sites were added due to difficulty with resource for the survey. Dundee City and West Lothian have not updated their survey since 2019 so no new data is available on new site in 2021. Details of survey return rates back to 2015 are shown at Annex D.

Specific note 22 - most of the decrease in derelict land in 2021 has been due to the restoration and naturalisation of 11 former coal mining sites in East Ayrshire accounting for 909 hectares. Also two large airfields in Highland have been reclaimed for agriculture and together account for 599 hectares.

Specific note 23 - For the 2020 survey eight authorities (Aberdeen City, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, Highland, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, Ornkey Islands, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian) were unable to complete a survey mainly due to COVID-19 Pandemic related restrictions but also staffing issues and results have been rolled over from 2019. These return rates should be borne in mind when using and interpreting the figures for these authorities in the year 2020, when interpreting the Scotland total in 2020 and when comparing the 2020 figures to other years.

Specific note 24 - six authorities reported various impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their survey return in 2021. More details are provided at sections 3 and 4. These impacts should be borne in mind when using and interpreting the figures for these authorities in the year 2021, when comparing the 2021 figure to other years and when interpreting the Scotland total for 2021.