2. Derelict and urban vacant land: location and trends

The amount of derelict and urban vacant land fell by 3% (267 hectares) from 8,858 hectares in 2024 to 8,591 hectares in 2025. Derelict land made up around four-fifths (81%) of the total. Five councils (North Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, Glasgow, East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway) together contain over 51% of all derelict and urban vacant land.

Chart 1: The total amount of derelict and urban vacant land has been decreasing since 2019.

The amount, in hectares, of urban vacant land and derelict land in Scotland from 2019 to 2025.

The downward trend in the amount of derelict and urban vacant land continued in 2025. The amount has fallen by 22% since 2019. The largest fall was in 2021 when eleven former coal mining sites were naturalised and two former airfields were reclaimed.

While the majority of derelict sites are located within settlements (76%), derelict sites in the countryside are larger. Sites in the countryside make up 52% of the area of derelict land. The amount of urban vacant land has been falling steadily over the period 2019 to 2025. Just over a fifth (21%) of urban vacant land is located in Glasgow City.