Can Planners Fix Scotland's Housing Shortage?

In Scotland, it is estimated that 270,000 extra homes are needed over the next nine years to satisfy demand for affordable housing. "But critics say we are simply not building enough homes to satisfy need.

Government figures show the average price of a home was four times annual earnings in 2000. By last year, that figure had increased to more than seven times annual earnings, and house prices are forecast to rise to ten times annual incomes by 2026. No town in Scotland now has an average house price of under £100,000."

"The Scottish Executive has committed itself to boosting the supply of housing but has not set an annual house-building target."

"A Housing Supply Task Force is to be set up to tackle the obstacles, such as land supply and planning issues, which have been hampering the delivery of more homes."

"But Allan Lundmark, director of planning at Homes for Scotland, an organisation that represents the country's major housebuilders, said change was now urgently required and sites such as Pinkie Mains were a prime example of why developers were unable to meet demand for housing in Scotland."

"'This is typical of what is happening across Scotland,' he said. 'Ironically it is the areas where there is most pressure on the housing market where developers are experiencing the worst problems in the planning system.'"