Rural Housing Crisis Demands Ambitious, Radical Solutions
Paul McLennan MSP, Minister for Housing, has overseen the publication of the much anticipated Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan (RIHAP). This maintains that the Scottish Government’s approach to the planning and delivery of new housing is focussed on providing the “right homes in the right places”. The Action Plan was subject to a lively debate in the Scottish Parliament where SLE was quoted on a number of occasions.
RIHAP aims to address many of the themes raised by stakeholders, including SLE, when engaging with the Housing Minister and his team. Initiatives within the plan are aimed at confronting the primary obstacles to achieving the delivery of affordable homes, including availability of land, construction capacity, access to homes for key workers, as well as considering how to deal with high numbers of second homes and tackling empty properties.
However, having reviewed the plan SLE feels that it is neither ambitious nor radical enough to deliver the step changes needed to meet rural housing needs. Crucially, the Scottish Government needs to consider the impact of their other policies on the supply of housing. Whether it is taxation, net zero targets, tenant’s rights, or connectivity – the potential impact needs to be fully considered so not to undermine what RIHAP is trying to achieve.
Significantly, if the Scottish Government is aiming to deliver 11,000 affordable homes in rural areas by 2032, then it must review its approach to the regulation of the private rented sector on which rural communities depend upon for affordable housing. In addition to the consequential loss of affordable rented homes in rural areas, the current direction of travel is a disincentive to much needed investment in new build affordable housing. A continued decline in the private rented sector will simply make achieving this delivery target less impactful in solving the rural housing crisis.
Rural and island housing developments are rife with challenges, and the primary challenge is viability, usually borne out of the cost of infrastructure due to the low level of existing services in these areas. Whether community-led or landowner-led, the principal challenges remain the same, as do the objectives which is the provision of housing for the local community.
Realising housing supply ambitions takes time due to the process: concept development and feasibility, planning, procurement and then construction. In this inflationary environment, all aspects are costly, and the longer a project takes the higher the cost.
The key barriers to delivery are bureaucracy and infrastructure costs. SLE asks that the Scottish Government focuses on reducing bureaucracy to simplify and speed up the planning process and provide better and fairer funding tools to enable infrastructure and project viability. A further frustration to delivery is the shortage of SME contractors who, like many rural businesses, struggle to recruit and retain skilled staff. SLE is confident that, if these aspects can be addressed, new rural housing will be delivered faster. Without taking this necessary action, progress will continue to be patchy and slow and the demand for housing will continue to grow, forcing up house prices and rents even further.
Most importantly, for a long-term solution, the Scottish Government must focus on the cause of the housing crisis - and avoid exasperating it by tinkering with the symptoms. Recent and proposed legislation continues to undermine the confidence of housing providers – just when the opposite is necessary to bolster supply. Given the right support, rural landowners can continue to be key delivery partners so that the right homes can be built in the right place.
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