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Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2004

2 Derelict and urban vacant land

2.1 Derelict land (and buildings) is that which has been so damaged by development or use that it is incapable of being developed for beneficial use without rehabilitation, and which is not being used for either the purpose for which it is held, or for a use acceptable in a local plan. The main exceptions are operational sites where rehabilitation would not be possible or appropriate within five years, and land which is derelict through natural causes (for example, neglected woodland or farmland) and which appears to have blended into the landscape. All sites where contamination is known or suspected are classed as derelict.

2.2 Vacant land is located in urban settlements (defined here as GRO(S) settlements with a population of 2,000 or more) or within one kilometre of the edge of such settlements which is considered to display the characteristics of urban vacant land; that is, land which is unused or unsightly, or which would benefit from development or improvement and will be referred to as 'urban vacant land' throughout this bulletin. The main exceptions to this definition are for land held for operational needs, agricultural land, urban fringe land and open space within the built up area, even where these offer the prospects of future development. Full details of the definitions of derelict and urban vacant land are given in the Annex.

Table 1: Derelict and urban vacant land ¹ by local authority area, 2004

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. As a percentage of the total vacant/derelict land recorded in Scotland
3. 2003 data have been used for the following council areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire.
4. A partial survey was completed for Highland - see Annex A.10

2.3 Sites covering less than 0.1 hectares are excluded unless a group of adjacent sites exceeds 0.1 hectares and can be counted as a single contiguous site. For more information about what is recorded in the survey see the Annex.

2.4 Table 1 shows that in 2004 there were 10,661 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land, of which 72 per cent was classified as derelict (7,638 hectares). Four councils, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City, Highland and Renfrewshire together contain 45 per cent of the recorded derelict and urban vacant land. The same four councils also contain 45 per cent of all derelict land while Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire contain 32 per cent of all urban vacant land. Chart 1 (page 1) shows the 10 councils containing the most derelict and urban vacant land.

Derelict Land

2.5 Chart 2 shows the ten councils with the highest percentage of derelict land in relation to their administrative area. The figures for all councils can be found in Annex Table A.

Chart 2: Derelict land as a percentage of local authority administrative area, 2004

2.6 Approximately 4.2 per cent of Glasgow City's land area, 3.1 per cent of Renfrewshire's land area and 2.0 per cent of North Lanarkshire's land area are recorded as derelict.

Urban Vacant Land

2.7 Chart 3 shows the ten councils with the highest amount of urban vacant land.

Chart 3: Urban Vacant land (hectares) by local authority, 2004

2.8 Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire together account for 32 per cent of all recorded urban vacant land in Scotland.

Comparison of derelict and urban vacant land between 1996-2004

2.9 Tables 2a, 2b and 2c show the trend in the area of recorded derelict and urban vacant land in the years 1996-2004. It should be noted that some of the councils did not participate in the 2004 and/or earlier surveys. In these cases, the most recent available data have been used to provide an estimate for the appropriate year.

2.10 Since 1996, the total amount of recorded derelict and urban vacant land has decreased by 2,440 hectares, with the biggest decrease reported by North Lanarkshire (1,436 hectares). The total amount of urban vacant land has decreased every year since 1996, a total reduction of 1,595 hectares. West Lothian reported the largest decrease of urban vacant land since 1996, 355 hectares.

2.11 The amount of derelict and urban vacant land recorded in the survey can change between years for a number of reasons. Sites may increase in size or new sites may be added to the survey (Table 19), sites may be re-measured between surveys, partial or complete sites may be brought back into productive use (Table 20), or sites may be removed for definitional reasons (Annex Table B) or due to naturalisation. Because sites may be removed from the survey for definitional reasons, previous reductions in the amount of derelict and urban vacant land recorded may not necessarily indicate that all the land removed was brought back into productive use.

2.12 The Highlands council did not carry out a survey between in the years 1994 to 2001 inclusive; consequently, the decrease of 267 urban vacant hectares and the increase of 635 derelict hectares between 2001 and 2002 reflect the change in the amount of urban vacant and derelict land since 1993. Due to the large area of land covered by Highland Council, only a partial survey was carried out in each year since 2002 for more information about the survey area see Annex A10.

2.13 Between 2001 and 2002 the amount of derelict land recorded in Renfrewshire increased by 567 hectares. This increase was almost entirely due to the addition of one large new site in the 2002 survey.

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