Community Land Scotland’s Ailsa Raeburn calls for radical changes to compulsory purchase and tax to tackle Highland housing crisis
Radical changes are essential to overcome the crisis in Highlands and Islands housing, according to Community Land Scotland chairwoman Ailsa Raeburn while delivering this year’s prestigious Attwood Lecture at UHI Inverness.
She suggests a significant overhaul of taxation and compulsory purchase powers should be looked at as key weapons to tackle the rural housing crisis as well as a new National Housing Agency.
Raeburn insisted landowners, communities, construction companies, and planning authorities should all be incentivised to build properties, and the Scottish Government needs to urgently address ineffective systems that delay housing development.
“We have businesses, local and global”, she said. “Wanting to invest and grow in the highlands and islands. We have a beautiful place to live with a great quality of life. We have more and more of our own young people wanting to build their lives here.
“So what’s the problem? It’s housing. Communities across the Highlands and Islands are desperate to retain and attract young and working age people but it’s becoming more and more difficult because of a lack of affordable housing.
A ‘Carrot and Stick’ Approach
Ms Raeburn said it was time to consider how changes to taxation and compulsory purchase rules could help the housing situation.
“How much are changes to taxation and compulsory purchase part of the mix too? A carrot and stick approach. There is a review of compulsory purchase legislation ongoing, but everyone would acknowledge it is a cumbersome and burdensome process with very high risk of challenge.
“We can only hope that the review manages to address these issues and enable more sites to come forward for development.”
Could tax reforms also help? Raeburn believes so as she wants to see reform of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and to introduce council tax multipliers on second homes – Highland Council has already doubled the rate on second homes bringing in millions.
A new National Housing Agency
With the “availability of homes now at crisis level”, Raeburn believes a new National Housing Agency should be considered to coordinate and drive a fair housing development policy for Scotland.
She conceded there are risks such a body could be distanced from communities, she felt it would be important to consider an agency independent of government to minimise political interference.
A National Housing Agency could acquire land on a temporary basis, supply infrastructure, secure planning and other consents, and make sites available for development, with sales at open market value.
“What has become clear is that doing more of the same will not lead to a different outcome. Really significant strategic thinking is required as part of a wider investment plan for the regeneration of the region and the mobilisation of all parties to the same goal”, she said.
There are ‘multiple barriers to progress’
Raeburn highlighted a number of factors that are blocking progress in housing and that need urgent reform.
She said: “The barriers include access to land, construction capacity, the cost/ value ratio, loss of existing homes to short term lets and second homes, issues with planning policy and delivery, and deficiencies in Scottish Government policy making”.
Land reform is ‘essential’
Raeburn called for radical change to land ownership and management because of the concentration on land control in Scotland with just 433 individuals and companies owning 50 per cent of private land.
“A perfect example is Applecross,” she said. “Despite the local estate owning 26,000 ha of land surrounding several local settlements, it was impossible to secure any land for housing. In the end the community managed to buy less than one acre of land at the road junction in the village from the NHS to develop for houses.”
