The creation of the Hub is to increase the rate at which homes with planning permission are delivered and tackle the reasons for delays, which include waits on decisions for major developments, lengthy negotiations of section 75 agreements, funding issues, or policy requirements to address issues such as flooding or biodiversity.
Planning barriers aren’t the main issue
In Scotland, planning permission has been granted for many more homes than are currently being built. The Competition and Markets Authority’s report published in early 2024, identified that since 2014, the average number of homes given planning permission in Scotland was 29,000 annually and that this significantly exceeded housing land supply targets, and indeed the number of house starts (average 19,892 per year) and completions (average 19,160 per year), over the period as a whole.
This evidence on supply raises questions about how sites with planning permission, estimated to represent more than 164,000 unbuilt homes across Scotland, can move forward to be delivered.
Six-month action plan
Actions to help planning authorities will increase the speed of approvals, deliver more new homes and grow the number of planners. These have been outlined with key objectives to progress at pace and focus on having a strong and consistent planning and policy framework for investment, actively enabling and facilitating development, an end-to-end approach to improving the inefficiencies and investing in capacity with access to excellent professional skills and expertise.
A commitment to dates has been set, covering.
- November–June: continue to support the application of national planning policies
- January–June: identify mechanisms to accelerate the build-out of housing sites November – December: support good practices in community benefits from housing
- January–June: establish a Housing Planning Hub
- November–June: promote and support the rollout of Masterplan Consent Areas
- November– June: support the pipeline of deliverable housing land
- November–June: compulsory purchase reform
Change of use
Another key area identified by the Scottish Government is the scope for further permitted development rights that could assist with the housing crisis and support the delivery of much-needed housing. They will look to engage on the scope and consider allowing more change of use of premises above shops to residential which is a means of stimulating an increase in town centre living too.
As identified, planning isn’t the only solution to unlock more homes in Scotland and solve the housing crisis. Reviewing the tax people pay when purchasing property, bringing more empty homes back into use through financial grant support, building more social homes, introducing tax incentives to encourage investment in the private rental sector as well as requiring local authorities to have a plan for retirement housing and incentivising people to right size can also boost the supply of homes. Propertymark will continue to call for action in these areas.
