February 27th 2025

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Scotland calls for revamp of rural housing plans

The Scottish Land Commission is urging a stronger role for public bodies in providing a pipeline of land for housing in rural communities.

A new report Land supply for rural housing proposal recommends establishing a Housing Land Agency to acquire and prepare land for development, based on similar models in England and Ireland. Aims would include:

• Create a long-term pipeline of land for housing
• Reuse money from land sales to keep the programme running and reinvesting
• Require public landowners to review their land and identify sites that could be used for rural housing
• Update Compulsory Purchase Order rules to make them easier to use when needed. Provide better guidance and support to help public bodies release land for housing at effective prices to unlock development  
• Focus public support for Local Place Plans in areas with potential for economic growth or where populations are declining.

The Scottish Government has declared a housing emergency due to factors including declining populations in rural areas. In an update the Scottish Government said it was committed to building 11,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities. Of 11,578 homes built in 2023-24, over 19 per cent of homes built (over 2,200) were in these areas, it said.