Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2023

4. General Points to Note

Vacant land is land unused for the purposes for which it is held and which is viewed as an appropriate site for development. This land must either have had prior development on it or preparatory work must have taken place in anticipation of future development.

Derelict land (and buildings) is land which has been so damaged by development, that it is incapable of development for beneficial use without rehabilitation. In addition the land must currently not be used for the purpose for which it is held or a use acceptable in the local plan. Land also qualifies as derelict if it has an un-remedied previous use which could limit future development. For both vacant and derelict land, site records must be at least 0.1 hectares in size to be included.

Urban Vacant land: the survey covers vacant land that is located within settlements of over 2,000 in population. Some local authorities have also surveyed for vacant land within settlements of under 2,000 in population. These statistics can be found in Annex 2. The survey does not cover vacant land in the countryside.

All references to 'Area' and 'Size' are measured in hectares.

1 hectare = 10,000 square metres (100 metres x 100 metres). The playing area of an international-sized rugby union pitch is just over one hectare.

All references to 'Sites' are numbers.