The Scottish Land Commission has released plans to relax the constraints on vacant land proposed for housing use.
Their three year strategic plan “Making More of Scotland’s Land” targets four priority areas: Land use reform, Land use Decision Making, Land Ownership and Agricultural Holdings. The reports sets out the commission’s desire to bring more vacant and derelict land into productive use. They also committed to investigate more ways in which to develop land in the public interest.
Key to their plans is an examination of diversity and equity of land ownership, tax arrangements and the effectiveness of community right-to-buy mechanisms. Other priorities seek to improve the quality and accountability of decision making, and improving the availability of agricultural land for non-farming purposes.
Alan Baxter, LSL Land & New Homes’ Area Director for Scotland commented, "With high demand across all price ranges for homes in Scotland we'd welcome anything that simplifies and focuses on providing opportunity for development on land. Particularly where it is most needed across the central belt of Scotland."
