A New Dawn For Scotland: The State

of Housing

Post-Sturgeon

Sending a shockwave through British politics, last month saw the unexpected resignation of Nicola Sturgeon, the longest-serving First Minister. As the dust settles, a clearer picture of how the future of Scottish housing will look is being painted, and Town Centre Living may be at the heart of it.

Town Centre Living (TCL) is a key policy aspiration for the Scottish Government, local authorities and a wide range of other public, private and third-sector bodies. It builds upon strong foundations of strategic place planning and supports key principles around inclusion, wellbeing and sustainability.

Speaking in the TCL report published late last month, it was stated: “The development of housing that brings more people to live within our town centres can have a major role in creating strong and sustainable places, as well as supporting key policy aims around active travel, affordable and independent living, walkable neighbourhoods, the wellbeing economy, net zero, and the re-use of existing built assets.”

Town centre living encapsulates the fact that improving social housing alone won’t bridge the class divide in the UK and help increase social mobility. It has been argued that: “TCL can underpin the resilience of many of Scotland’s places, but it needs to be done in a way that delivers the right homes, in the right places, for the right reasons.”

Sturgeon out - Town Centre Living in?

While under Sturgen’s reign as First Minister, there was limited TCL activity across Scotland and some towns where there has been little, or even no, new town centre housing development for a considerable time, there are hopes that the new FM will introduce new policies to address this.

The message is that turning policy into practice is complex but not impossible. “By harnessing the economic, demographic, well-being and net zero opportunities that TCL offers, we can deliver more homes at the heart of great places.”

As well as presenting the challenges and constraints, this report also presents some of the successes that places can learn from to support the delivery of new TCL proposals and also to improve current proposals – do more and do better.

TCLs fit existing policyso why minimal implementation?

Concerns over the failure to implement this across Scotland are further exacerbated when highlighting that the ideology behind them coincides with existing policy and legislation.

The report articulated this by explaining: “There is clear alignment and good strategic fit for more TCL developments to come forward. The national context supports the local agenda, with TCL almost invariably featuring in town/city centre strategies and local place plans.

TCL is acknowledged as an important tool in delivering improved outcomes for communities: for the people who benefit from living in the houses, for the businesses who benefit from the residents’ spending power, and for the wider community, visitors and workers who enjoy a more active, vibrant and resilient town centre.

Push and pull factors creating polarised opinion

To gain a better understanding of the demand for TCL, SFT commissioned an analysis that identified a range of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that influence people’s views around housing choice.

Push and pull factors:

• Proximity to places of work and study

• The quality of the physical environment and access to green spaces

• The range of services and facilities, including public transport choices

• Housing quality and choice, including cost, size, type and tenure

• Negative issues – for example, pollution, crime and perceptions of safety

While implementing TCLs across Scotland may be seen as the top priority for the next First Minister, there are significant project barriers to consider.

Funding gaps are high on the agenda, with a significant disparity in the distribution of funds to local authorities across Scotland. Further funds allocated for TCLs may be lacking due to a lack of evidence for demand, despite public opinion growing.

Time, cost and the process of obtaining consent for developments across the varying cities is a considerable barrier as authorities, many of which are already facing cuts to funding, will be looking to implement quicker and notably cheaper wins to help support housing.

The report addressed these concerns: “Whilst each town and the project will have its own unique set of circumstances, addressing these three barriers could have a material impact on the attractiveness of TCL, specifically for private sector owners, investors and developers.”

To incentivise private sector investment, the report recommended a three-step action plan to make an immediate impact and deliver long-term success for TCLs in Scotland.

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