Home Builders Raise Concerns Over Govts Draft Planning Advice

Concerns have been raised by Scottish home builders on the unintended consequences of the government's draft delivery advice on planning and infrastructure.

Industry body Homes for Scotland (HfS) said that while the draft advice contains positive ideas for councils to increase their levels of home building, a range of other issues may conflict with the initiatives overall aim.

HfS Head of Planning, Tammy Adams, said some aspects of the draft advice "could inadvertently result in fewer homes being built".

"With consultation on new advice rare, the opportunity to submit comments highlights the priority the Scottish Government is placing on increasing housing supply and reflects the importance of getting the advice right before it can be used," she said.


"The confirmation that it will not be finalised and adopted until all views have been taken into account is therefore very welcome.

"Whilst positive action must be taken to help support the delivery of much needed new homes of all tenures and we agree with the principle of providing advice to assist planning authorities in the short term, we believe some aspects of this draft advice could inadvertently result in fewer homes being built."

"While it is heartening to see significant growth of housing completions in areas such as Perth & Kinross, it is vital to the Scottish economy that this is replicated across all City regions."

Ms Adams added HfS's main concern is ensuring market issues are given "proper consideration" local planning authorities when they are selecting development sites.

"Our main concern with regards the delivery advice relates to the removal of ‘marketability’ from the list of criteria that potential housing sites are expected to meet if they are to be deemed ‘effective’ and allocated for development," she said.

"We live in a market economy and the reality is that private sector home builders deliver the majority of the new homes in Scotland, including a significant proportion of affordable homes."

"It is crucial that planning authorities liaise with the home building industry to understand the housing market in their area and ensure they have a realistic understanding of where it is financially viable to build and sell new homes."

(LM)