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3 Derelict land: People's proximity to derelict land

3.1 This section focuses exclusively on derelict land and people's proximity to such sites throughout Scotland. In 2007 there were 1,821 derelict sites recorded in the SVDLS.

3.2 Table 7 shows the percentage of local authority population that is estimated to live within various distances of derelict land in 2007. This is a measure of people's proximity to derelict land, not their exposure.

3.3 27.3% of Scotland's population lives within 500m of derelict land. A further 25.7% live within the '500m to less than a 1,000m' bracket. The remaining 47.0% live at least 1,000m (1km) from derelict land.

3.4 People's proximity to derelict land varies significantly at the council level. For example, 59.1% of Glasgow City's population lives within 500m of a derelict site, whereas the comparative figure for Aberdeen and Edinburgh is only 12.3% and 13.3% respectively. Other councils with an above average proportion of their population living close to derelict land include West Dunbartonshire (59.1%), North Lanarkshire (50.0%) and Midlothian (49.8%). The population of the Shetland Islands is the least likely to be living close to derelict land with only 1.0% within 500m of a derelict site. Map 2 on page 14 shows the percentage of each Local Authority's population that lives within 500m of derelict land.

Table 7: Percentage of local authority population living within various distances of Derelict Land, 2007 ^1,2,3

1. Population figures used for each local authority are the latest mid-year estimates published by GROS (in this case 2006).
2. A partial survey was completed for Highland - See Annex A.11
3. Further information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.7.

3.5 The map on page 14 shows the percentage of each local authority's population that lives within 500m of derelict land in 2007 (for all of Scotland). It uses the results from Table 7.

3.6 Table 8 shows the percentage of local authority population that lives within 500m of derelict land for the years 2004 to 2007. It also shows this proximity information for sites that have been derelict prior to 1991.

3.7 Between 2004 and 2007, the percentage of Scotland's population that lives within 500m of a derelict site has remained fairly stable, fluctuating only slightly around the 27% mark. There have been some larger changes at council level. For example in 2004, 61.0% of Midlothian's population lived within 500m of a derelict site, dropping to 49.8% by 2007. During the same period the proportion of Scottish Border's population living near a derelict site has increased from 38.6% to 48.4%.

3.8 Between 2004 and 2007, the percentage of Scotland's population that lives within 500m of land derelict prior to 1991 decreased from 16.2% to 13.9%. Those councils with the highest proportion of population living within 500m of land derelict prior to 1991 were Glasgow City (42.8%), Midlothian (38.9%), West Dunbartonshire (38.4%) and North Lanarkshire (25.3%).

Table 8: Percentage of local authority population living within 500m of derelict land, 2004-2007
Percentage of local authority population living within 500m of land derelict prior to 1991, 2004-2007

1. Population figures used for each local authority are the latest mid-year estimates published by GROS (in this case 2006).
2. See Annex Table E for details of council participation in different years.
3. Further information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.7.

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