This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Unlocking land for new homes
13/11/2006
A package of measures to free up more land for housing was announced today.
Current planning policy (SPP 3) is to be reviewed to look at new mechanisms for increasing such provision in local development plans.
In addition, £48 million is being allocated by Communities Scotland to speed up the delivery of much-needed local projects and to help housing associations acquire more sites for affordable homes.
Also published today is Executive-commissioned research which makes a number of recommendations to increase the effectiveness of the planning system in providing affordable housing.
Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"Planning has a key role in determining supply of all types of housing - both private and publicly funded
"Every area in Scotland has its own distinct housing pressures and needs. Development plans have a central role in ensuring that land is available for all kinds of housing development in the right quantities and in the right places
"The review will examine longer term options of what mechanisms can be used to unlock land and how it should be designated.
"The Executive is investing record amounts to provide more decent warm affordable homes to meet people's needs.
"Last year this provided 6500 homes against a target of 6400. Earlier this year we announced a programme of £439 million for 7100 affordable homes.
"More investment now will help delivery on the ground. The additional £48 million will speed up projects already under way and extend local land bank schemes so that building can go ahead next year.
"The Affordable Housing Working Group that I set up earlier this year has been helping to apply new thinking in this area. Like today's research report it backs a review of planning policy in this area.
"We have set very ambitious targets for housing - both in terms of raising quality and helping homeless people.
"I make no apology for this. A lot of progress has been made due to the hard work by Communities Scotland working with councils, housing associations and developers.
"The measures I have announced today will build on this progress.
"There are no easy solutions to the challenge of providing sufficient homes of the right type in the right places and we need to look hard at all the options for increasing supply.There can be no let up."
The £48 million is extra capital funding which the Finance Minister was able to allocate at the Autumn Budget Revision. It comes on top of the £439 million for the Executive's Affordable Housing Investment Programme in the current financial year. The additional investment will be used to bring forward approvals for new stock that would otherwise have been delayed until later in the financial year and to enable strategic land acquisitions to be made in line with Local Housing Strategies.
Tribal Consulting was commissioned by the Executive in May 2006 to carry out research on the allocation of land for affordable housing through the planning system. The study assessed the effectiveness of current arrangements and the potential value of introducing other mechanisms to assist the provision of affordable housing.
Current Scottish Planning Policy 3: Planning for Housing (SPP3) dates from February 2003. Its key aim is to bring forward well-located, high quality new housing to meet the requirement for new dwellings across Scotland. The review will consider the use of longer time horizons for the identification of effective land supply and whether it should be easier for Ministers to intervene in development plans where not enough land has been allocated for housing. It will examine whether local authorities should have powers to control the type and density of housing - powers that might enable them to encourage housing that is suitable for families or acts as low-cost starter homes.