Enough housing land in Edinburgh for next nine years, concludes city planners

THERE is enough land in Edinburgh for housing for the next nine years – at current build rates – according to a just-released register from city planners.

Says the city’s planning department: “The Housing Land Audit and Completions Programme (HLACP – here) is used to assess the supply of land for housing and delivery of new homes.

“It records the amount of land available for house building, identifies any constraints affecting development and assesses the land supply against the housing supply target and housing land requirement set by the [city’s] strategic development plan.”

Adds the planning department: “The [HLACP] demonstrates that there is more than enough unconstrained housing land to meet the housing land requirements.

“The key findings from the study are the number of completions recorded for 2019/20 (at nearly 3,000 new homes) is the highest recorded since the late 1990s and the second highest-ever recorded.

“The current effective supply of land is sufficient for 22,696 new homes, substantially above the target of around 15,000.

“Completions in 2020/21 are expected to fall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but build rates are expected to rise once more. At current build rates, there is sufficient effective land to last for nine years.”

Picture: Edinburgh Castle photographed from a distance, from Braid Hills

Picture credit: PlaceDesignScotland