SNP planning proposals will 'exacerbate the housing crisis', claims stakeholder
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Homes for Scotland (HfS), which lobbies on behalf of home building companies such as CALA, Barratt, and Persimmon, criticised aspects of the Scottish Government’s draft planning framework, which sets out planning policies for the next few decades.
This includes embedding policies aimed at making key climate goals such as net zero achievable into nationwide planning guidance.
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Hide AdWriting for The Scotsman, Liz Hamilton, the organisation’s head of local and regional planning, said the national planning framework four (NPF4) was “planning for decline” and the actual need for homes was higher than the draft document suggested.
Her intervention comes just a week after the Edinburgh Evening News revealed a tenth of all of the Scottish capital's private flats are owned by so-called 'super landlords’, with 15 registered landlords owning around 5,300 homes, around 9 per cent of the private rental sector.
Ms Hamilton said an “incredibly limited view” on what constitutes people with a need for housing – excluding those living with parents or in a shared flat, or families in homes with inadequate bedroom space or lacking private outdoor space – meant the “gap between the housing ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is growing”.
Criticising the planned housing numbers provided by local authorities, some of which are below the number of houses built in the past ten years, she said: “This is planning for decline and must be addressed at a national level before NPF4 is adopted.
“Above all, the general public and other stakeholders must be left in no doubt that the actual need and demand for new homes is, in many areas, likely to be significantly higher than these figures suggest.”
She added: “As it is currently drafted, NPF4 is likely to reduce the number of homes being delivered, thereby exacerbating the housing crisis.”
The planning framework is going through a consultation period, set to close at the end of next month.
Planning minister Tom Arthur is set to give evidence on NPF4 at a meeting of the Holyrood local government, housing and planning committee today.
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Hide AdA Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Draft National Planning Framework 4 proposes that land be identified for a minimum of 200,000 new homes to be built over ten years.
“The private sector will play a key role in meeting that target and the Scottish Government will collaborate closely with partners like HfS to deliver more quality homes that meet community needs.
“NPF4 proposals would create quality places by planning housing together with local infrastructure and services, making better use of town and city centres as well as regenerating vacant and derelict land and supporting well-being and net zero ambitions.”
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