Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils’
Draft Housing Land Audit 2025
Cloverhill A ordable Housing Development Under Construction.
Image Copyright of Aberdeen City Council
(Norman Adams – Aberdeen City Council)
Introduction
The Housing Land Audit (HLA) illustrates the scale and characteristics of the housing land supply inAberdeen City andAberdeenshire. It is used to determine if there is sufficient land availableforhousingdevelopmentandalsotoinformtheplanningoffutureinfrastructuresuch as roads, schools and drainage.
The audit base dateis 31 March 2025 and lists sites of four or moreunitswhichareallocated forhousingintheLocalDevelopmentPlanorhaveplanningconsentforhousing.Thisincludes sites under construction which have remaining capacity. Recent and anticipated completions are recorded for each site.
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted on 13 February 2023 which outlines a new approach to the planning for and monitoring of housing land. In particular, it sets a minimum all-tenure housing land requirement (MATHLR) for all local authorities. The Local Housing Land Requirement (LHLR) is the amount of land required for new housing and will be set out in the next Local Development Plan (LDP).
Housing LandAudit Guidance was issued by the Scottish Government (SG) in January 2025 advisinglocalauthoritieshowHLAsshouldbeapproachedunderNPF4andreplacesPlanning Advice Note 2/2010.Asa result, further changeshave beenmade totheHLAthis year inline with the new guidance.
The preparation of the draft audit continues to be informed by regular monitoring of house completions,planningconsents,andlocaldevelopmentplans. Inaddition,developers,agents and landowners are contacted and asked to confirm the details held on housing sites and to provide anticipatedfuture build rates.
Glossary and Definition of TermsDraft Housing LandAudit 2025 Data Sheets (Aberdeen
City Council only)
Site Reference
Housing land audit unique site reference number.
LDPReference
Aberdeen City Local Development Plan 2023 reference code.
Site Name/Site Address
Address of site.
Planning Status
Sites are categorised by their position in the planning system: No consent
Pending decision
Consented (PPiP)
Consented (Full)
Pre-application
Refused
UnderAppeal
Under Construction POAN
Developer
Main developer or agency responsible for the development of the site where known.
Main Planning Application Reference(s) / Approval Date
The most relevant or most recent planning approval (with decision date) has been selected, or where a planning enquiry has been made if relevant. Note that sites often have multiple planning permissions that cannot all be shown here.
Deliverability Status
Deliverable: sites which are considered deliverable and can be realistically programmed in the ten year period from the base date of the audit and will contribute towards meeting the LHLR.
Deliverable with constraints: sites with constraints may be considered deliverable if action to overcome the constraint can be identified and they can be programmed within ten years from the base date of the audit and will contribute towards meeting the LHLR.
Deliverable with constraints (Financial only): the guidance states that although valid considerations, financial matters change over time and should not be the sole reason a site is not determined as deliverable. Sites which have only a ‘Financial’ constraint have not been programmed but will contribute towards meeting the LHLR.
Constrained: sites with constraints which, at the base date of the audit, have no known prospect of being resolved. These sites are not programmed and will not contribute towards meeting the LHLR.
Constraints
Reasonwhythesiteisconstrained. Oneormorereasonsmaybegiven. Sitesareconstrained if they do not meet the following criteria:
Ownership: the siteisin theownershipor controlof apartywhichcanbe expectedto develop it or to release it for development. Where a site is in the ownership of a local authorityorotherpublicbody,itshouldbeincludedonlywhereitispartofaprogramme of land disposal.
Physical Conditions: - the site, or relevant part of it, is free from constraints related to slope, aspect, flood risk, contamination, pipelines, ground stability or access, which would preclude its development for housing.
Infrastructure: the site is either free of infrastructure constraints, or any required infrastructure can realistically be provided to allow development.
Land Use Status: housing is the sole preferred use of the site, or if housing is one of a range of possible uses, other factors such as ownership point to housing being a realistic option.
Financial: implications for the site related to wider economic matters such as:
- the cost of finance, labour, expertise and materials;
- deficit funding being committed from public sources; and,
- marketability across local authority areas and changes to this, such as through regeneration.
The above financial matters change over time and influence strategic choices by individual businesses/organisations therefore whilst they are valid considerations, they should not be the sole reason a site is not determined as deliverable.
Pipeline Timeframe
The pipeline timeframe is the sequencing of housing land which is allocated in the local development planto meet the LHLR asshowninthe Delivery Programme.Short term is from 2023/24-2025/26, Medium from 2026/27-2028/29 and Long from 2029/30to 2032/33.
Total Site Capacity
Total number ofunitsonthe site.Thismaybean indicative capacity,allocatedcapacityor per an approved planning consent.
Remaining Capacity 31st March 2025
Number of units still to be built as at 31 March of the audit year.
Constrained Units
Number of units that areclassed as constrained without identified resolution and not likely to come forward in the short/medium/long term.
Total Completions to Date
Number of units that have been completed on the site as at 31 March 2025.
Completions in Audit Year 2024/2025
Number of units that have been completed during theAuditYear.
Programming
Anticipated completions are shown from 2025/2026 to 2034/2035. Any remaining units to be constructed beyond that period are shown in the 2035/2036+ column. Note that sites may have actual completions prior to 2024/2025 and as a result, totalling the completions shown may not add up to the Total Capacity figure.
Year Construction Started
Year that work began on site or first completions were recorded.
Tenure
This is completed where known. Mixed sites contain both affordable and market units.There may be some sites where physical affordable units have been provided offsite or as a commuted sum.
Number of Market/Affordable Units
This is completed where known.
Number of Flats/Houses
This is completed where known.
Site Area
Overall area of the site in hectares.
Year Added to Audit
The year the site first entered the audit
Allocated/Windfall
This shows whether thesite has been allocated in a local development plan or is unallocated but has entered the audit as a‘windfall’having secured planning permission for housing development.
Greenfield/Brownfield
Greenfield: Sites where no building has previously taken place.
Brownfield: Sites which have previously been developed or usedfrom some purpose which has ceased. May include re-use of existing buildings by conversion, demolition and new build or new build on previously vacant or derelict land. Excludes privateand public gardens, sports and recreation grounds, woodland and amenity open spaces.
Easting/Northing OS grid reference.
Self Build
Whether the siteis for self-build (or proportion of the site dedicated toself-build) where known.
Vacant Derelict Land Register
Whether the siteis on the local authority’sVacant and Derelict Land Register.
Academy/Primary School Catchment
This indicates which school catchment area the site is in.