This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Land values research report
11/11/2002
A research report to investigate current trends relating
to land values in Scotland is published today.
The research was commissioned to identify trends in
development land values and examine the implicatons for
Executive policy, the planning system and the future
development of Scotland's cities and towns.
Generally, land values in Scotland remain static and
residential prices are low compared to the rest of the
UK.
However residential land values in Edinburgh have risen
considerably over the last six years, making them similar
to those in London.
The increase in Glasgow has been less dramatic, but the
gap between residential and industrial land values has
widened significantly in both cities.
Experience elsewhere has shown that high land values
tend to encourage owners of industrial sites to sell their
land for residential use.
In parts of North America and England service employment
has moved from the cities to lower cost locations in
smaller peripheral towns.
The research concludes that this has not been the case
in Scotland. It found that although manufacturing has
declined in Edinburgh and Glasgow, growth in the service
sector in both cities has boosted employment overall.
Commenting on the report, Deputy Social Justice Minister
Hugh Henry said:
"We have to look to the long term and this report will
help inform our thinking on future policy developments. It
highlights the importance of the interaction between the
land market and the planning system. There are a number of
interesting suggestions for how the planning system might
respond to current trends in urban land values and we shall
give it careful consideration."
Other findings include:
- where land values are high, measures will be needed
to ensure that the providers of social housing for rent
are not driven out of the market
- low value areas can be strengthened through quality
design. The Crown Street development in Glasgow's
Gorbals was highlighted as an outstanding example of
this
- development tariffs are unsatisfactory and
betterment taxation should be revisited
Mr Henry added:
"Planning Authorities are already taking steps to
include policies for the provision of affordable housing in
their development plans and we are already working on
guidelines to be published next year. I note that the
research also suggests that betterment taxation should be
revisited, however we have absolutely no plans to take this
any further."
The report was conducted by DTZ Pieda Consulting for the
Executive. The recommendations are the views of the
researchers. The Executive will carefully consider the
details and where appropriate will use them in future
policy development.
Planning Authorities are already taking steps to include
policies for the provision of affordable housing in their
development plans. The role of the planning system in
contributing to the provision of affordable housing will be
addressed next year by the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)
on Planning for Housing.