Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey - site register

A register of each urban vacant and derelict site surveyed by local authorities collected by the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS).

Next update: June 2025


Please note that it is the local authorities who are the original data owners of information on individual sites. The information should not be used in such a way that would infringe copyright. Permission should be obtained from the relevant local authority before any such use. Contact details for each local authority are also available alongside the individual site information in the register.

If you have an enquiry about a specific site on the register, you should contact the local authority where the site is situated. If you are interested in purchasing a site on the register, you should contact the owners of the land. The relevant local authority may be able to provide details of the land owner. Contact information for each local authority in Scotland is shown alongside the site register.

Alternatively, you could contact the Registers of Scotland which is an Executive Agency responsible for maintaining records relating to property in Scotland. 

The variables shown for each site in the register are:

Local Authority
The local authority or National Park Authority whose boundaries the site is situated within.

Site Code
A reference to the site that uniquely identifies it to the local authority it lies within.

Site Name
The name given to the site. Not every site has been named by local authorities.

Site Address
The address given for the site where it has been provided by local authorities.

EAST/NORTH
The Easting and Northing grid reference for each site centroid.

Site Size
The size of the site in Hectares. To qualify for inclusion in the SVDLS, all sites must be at least 0.1 hectares in size.

Site Type
The type of each site, whether it is urban vacant or derelict. Urban vacant sites are either vacant land or vacant land and buildings.

Location of Site
General location of site. Derelict sites can either be in a settlement of population 2,000 and over, a settlement of under 2,000 in population or in the countryside. Urban Vacant sites can either be in a settlement of population 2,000 and over or a settlement of under 2,000 in population. Please note that the SVDLS only applies to urban vacant land located within any settlement as defined by local authorities in their latest council approved local plan. Not every local authority was able to survey for urban vacant land in settlements of below 2,000 in population. Therefore, to ensure overall consistency, the SVDLS bulletin refers only to urban vacant land located within settlements of 2,000 and over. All urban vacant sites located within a settlement of under 2,000 in population are referred to in the Annex of the bulletin.

Owner 1 & 2
Details of the current owner or the last known owner. Where sites have two or more owners then the predominant two owners are shown.

Period when the site first became vacant or derelict
The time period when the site first became vacant or derelict.

Previous Use of the Site
The predominant use made of the site before it became vacant or derelict.

Development Potential
This categorisation is intended to combine factual appreciation of the recorded information and planning status of a site, with a considered view of the likelihood of its development (appraised and updated as required at the time of the Survey each year).

Data Zone Code
The data zone code is given for site location. Data zone geography covers the whole of Scotland and nests within local authority boundaries. Datazones have populations of between 500 and 1,000 household residents, and some effort has been made to respect physical boundaries. In addition, they have compact shape and contain households with similar social characteristics. Data zones given here are for the 2011 boundaries. Further information on data zones is available.

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