Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024: island communities impact assessment

Assessment and analysis

37. The following statements, made in response to the 2023 energy standards review, remain valid for the current review topic.

38. It is recognised that changes of the type proposed by this review will have an impact on the cost of new buildings and new building work across Scotland. The threshold at which proposed developments becomes viable varies with the type and location of a development. Feedback from stakeholders does flag this as a risk of concern for development in island communities, as well as remote and rural communities. However, it is noted that similar risk exists in many other parts of Scotland, albeit to as differing profile – e.g. viability relating to land rather than construction costs.

39. The nature of building regulations and their application as national standards does mean that requirements are applied equally across all Scottish local authority areas. And there is a degree of flexibility in the system inherent in this structure and through the appointment of local authorities with local understanding as the verifying and enforcing authority for their own area.

40. As building regulations exist to serve the public interest by delivering new development which meet provisions set out under the Building (Scotland) Act, it is difficult for regulation to set lesser provisions on a geographical basis, as this may simply result in a poorer outcome from new development. However, as some areas of regulations, such as those addressing climate change, continue to set increasingly challenging minimum standards, the need for flexibility in how standards are met becomes more important to deliver change equitably.

41. It is therefore important to understand and report on how proposed changes to building regulations to improve energy and environmental performance will not have a disproportionate adverse effect on island communities. However, this would be an assertion in principle based upon the evidence provided by review research and subsequent discussions on the consultation proposals and it does have to be suitably qualified.

42. There are established levels of additional challenge associated with development of the built environment in remote, rural and island communities. There are also a number of key themes identified from consultation to date which relate to the components of a Passivhaus-style approach to the setting of minimum standards which merit ongoing investigation and action to understand the extent of any risk arising from development location if further disadvantage is to be avoided. A further ICIA will be prepared to record the discussions that lead to the development of consultation proposals for summer 2025.