Local Housing Strategy: guidance 2026

Regeneration and town centres

Place-based regeneration

Regeneration is key to reversing the social, economic and physical decline of places and enabling the conditions for people to thrive, flourish and live well locally. Regeneration plays a critical role in supporting disadvantaged communities, particularly where de-industrialisation, market failure and under-investment has perpetuated generational cycles of deprivation.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to regeneration is set out in its Regeneration Strategy. Housing is a key part of our physical, economic and social fabric, and is critical to the wider development of our place ambitions.

Successful regeneration involves identifying what is already good about a place and how to make more use of it. It pays attention to what is special about the people, the place and the community and focuses on making positive lasting change. Community involvement is key to enabling conditions for a good quality of life for people who live and work in an area.

A key mechanism to supporting the twin aims of regeneration and addressing housing is through the use of brownfield sites. NPF4 encourages and promotes the use of brownfield, vacant and derelict land and empty buildings to help reduce the need for greenfield development.

Town Centre revitalisation

Town centres are key areas that local authorities should consider when unlocking opportunities for housing development. Housing to 2040 supports the delivery of homes in town centres and at the heart of communities. Development and roll out of support for town centre living is a key focus in the Housing to 2040 route map, with the aim of ensuring we have more homes at the heart of great places.

Town centres continue to face significant challenges as retail patterns change and evolve, further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. As set out in Scotland’s Town Centre First Principle, the health of town centres should be put at the heart of decision-making processes to drive investment, policy alignment and available resources.

The Town Centre Toolkit features ideas and examples of how town centres have been repopulated with homes and community facilities, including re-use of vacant and derelict land and buildings.

Responding to the twin aims of housing delivery and regeneration, there is opportunity to consider town centre living opportunities where it can support the delivery of the right homes in the right places.

Summary of areas expected to be included in LHS

a. a summary of any regeneration plan that the local authority has in place, and how this aligns with priorities and outcomes included in a LHS. This could include any plans to address obsolete housing stock or to re-use existing buildings for housing.

b. a short summary of the nature and function of town centres within the local authority area. How the local authority is using the Town Centre First Principle where any investment decisions have been made including through partnership collaboration and shared investment to support and improve its towns and town centres.

Compulsory purchase order (CPO)

Compulsory purchase powers can be used to acquire land that is needed to deliver projects in the public interest. They can help to support delivery of a wide variety of schemes: both large and small. In a housing context this can range from supporting major new housing developments through to bringing empty properties back into use. Local authorities can find information on compulsory purchase order policy and guidance as well as information about reform of the system.

In addition, the Aberdeenshire Council Empty Homes CPO Hub (established in partnership with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership) was created to provide a range of support for local authorities to identify and process empty homes for CPO, including providing a specialist legal casework service. Local authorities can access further information by emailing the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership at emptyhomes@shelter.org.uk.

Local authorities are encouraged to take a systematic approach to bringing back empty homes by CPO. For example, Glasgow City Council has made CPO integral to its empty homes service and actions taken by Empty Homes Officers during routine casework are documented in case these may be used as evidence should a CPO be subsequently instigated.

Glasgow Council’s LHS provides clarity by stating that it will consider use of a CPO where an absentee owner of a long-term empty property cannot be traced or refuses to engage with the Empty Homes Officer. Local authorities can find more information about Glasgow City Council’s use of CPOs to return empty homes to active use as homes for social rent.

Summary of areas expected to be included in LHS

a. a summary setting out the circumstances in which the local authority will consider the use of CPOs as a pro-active tool to bring forward housing and regeneration projects and tackle privately owned empty homes. (Routine casework by Empty Home Officers should record each time a CPO for a long-term empty home is considered and the outcome of this consideration).