Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2015

The Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey is a data collection undertaken to establish the extent and state of vacant and derelict land in Scotland. The survey has been operating since 1988, and is managed by the Scottish Government Communities Analysi


6 Derelict Land: People's Proximity to Derelict Land

6.1 This section focuses exclusively on derelict land and people's proximity to such sites throughout Scotland. In 2015 there were 1,965 derelict sites recorded in the SVDLS.

6.2 Table 8 shows the percentage of local authority population that is estimated to live within various distances of derelict land in 2015. This is an estimated measure of people's proximity to derelict land and not their exposure to it.

Table 8: Estimated percentage of local authority population living within various distances of Derelict Land, 2015 1,2,3

Local Authority Population Distance from Derelict Land in 2015
Less than 500m 500m to Less than 1,000m 1,000m or further
Aberdeen City 228,990 26.4 25.0 48.6
Aberdeenshire 260,500 6.8 10.4 82.7
Angus 116,660 18.9 18.0 63.1
Argyll & Bute 87,660 8.9 11.6 79.4
Clackmannanshire 51,190 35.0 28.7 36.3
Dumfries & Galloway 149,940 8.7 11.8 79.5
Dundee City 148,260 31.4 38.0 30.5
East Ayrshire 122,150 28.0 24.0 48.0
East Dunbartonshire 106,730 16.4 35.3 48.3
East Lothian 102,050 17.9 32.6 49.5
East Renfrewshire 92,380 22.3 28.9 48.8
Edinburgh, City of 492,680 13.7 27.7 58.6
Falkirk 157,640 13.0 20.1 66.9
Fife 367,260 27.9 27.2 44.9
Glasgow City 599,650 61.8 33.1 5.1
Highland 233,100 12.6 13.9 73.5
Inverclyde 79,860 35.0 24.4 40.6
Midlothian 86,210 36.4 44.4 19.2
Moray 94,750 15.0 23.2 61.7
Na h-Eileanan Siar 27,250 4.7 13.5 81.7
North Ayrshire 136,450 39.5 33.4 27.1
North Lanarkshire 337,950 73.5 23.7 2.8
Orkney Islands 21,590 0.6 3.5 95.8
Perth & Kinross 148,880 15.2 23.1 61.7
Renfrewshire 174,230 30.9 34.9 34.1
Scottish Borders 114,030 38.4 14.5 47.1
Shetland Islands 23,230 0.8 4.4 94.7
South Ayrshire 112,510 30.9 14.8 54.4
South Lanarkshire 315,360 27.9 23.9 48.2
Stirling 91,580 9.7 17.1 73.2
West Dunbartonshire 89,730 64.0 24.3 11.7
West Lothian 177,150 20.0 29.1 50.9
Scotland 5,347,600 29.7 24.9 45.3

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. Population figures used for each local authority are the latest mid-year estimates published by NRS (in this case 2014).
3. Further information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.7.

Map 1: Percentage of population within 500 metres of a Derelict Site, 2015

Map 1: Percentage of population within 500 metres of a Derelict Site, 2015

6.3 The map shows the estimated percentage of each local authority's population that lives with 500 metres of derelict land in 2015, based on the results from Table 8.

6.4 29.7% of Scotland's population is estimated to live within 500 metres of a derelict site. A further 24.9% live between 500 metres to less than 1,000 metres of a derelict site. The remaining 45.3% live at least 1,000 metres from a derelict site.

6.5 People's proximity to derelict land varies significantly at council level. For example, 61.8% of Glasgow's population lives within 500 metres of a derelict site, whereas the figures for Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh are 26.4%, 31.4% and 13.7% respectively. Other councils with an above-average proportion of their population living close to derelict land include North Lanarkshire (73.5%), West Dunbartonshire (64.0%) and North Ayrshire (39.5%). The population of the Orkney Islands is least likely to be living close to derelict land with only 0.6% within 500 metres of a derelict site.

6.6 Table 9 shows the estimated percentage of local authority population that lives within 500 metres of derelict land for the years 2009-2015. It also shows this proximity information for some long term derelict sites.

6.7 In 2009, an estimated 30.1% of Scotland's population lived within 500 metres of a derelict site. This has fallen slightly to 29.7% in 2015.

6.8 Between 2009 and 2013, the percentage of Scotland's population that lived within 500 metres of a site that has been derelict since before 1991 fell from 13.9% to 12.2%. For the years 2013 to 2015 the percentage of Scotland's population that live within 500 metres of a site that has been derelict since before 2001 fell from 16.4% to 15.7%. The only increases in proximity to pre-1991 and 2001 sites are usually caused either by the entry of "new" sites that have been derelict for a long time, or where old sites change type from vacant to derelict. New residential developments will also have a small effect. Those councils with the largest percentage of people within 500 metres of a site derelict before 2001 are West Dunbartonshire (42.3%), Glasgow City (40.6%), North Lanarkshire (34.0%) and Midlothian (29.0%).

6.9 The increase recorded in Orkney in 2010 was due to the appearance in the 2010 survey of numerous previously unrecorded sites, especially around Kirkwall. The decrease in 2014 is due to the removal of eight sites, seven for definitional reasons and one for retail development.

Table 9: Estimated percentage of local authority population living within 500 metres of Derelict Land, 2009-2015 1,2

Local Authority Proximity to Derelict Land
% of Population within 500m of any Derelict Site % of Population within 500m of long term derelict land
prior to 1991 prior to 2001
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 2014 2015
Aberdeen City 22.0 24.4 30.6 35.8 31.3 27.8 26.4 7.1 6.6 5.3 7.4 4.8 8.0 8.0 7.7
Aberdeenshire 8.1 7.2 6.3 7.7 6.9 7.4 6.8 1.1 0.3 0.2 1.5 0.2 1.2 1.2 1.0
Angus 16.4 16.2 13.3 17.3 16.0 16.0 18.9 10.1 9.9 9.8 11.4 10.0 12.3 12.3 11.7
Argyll & Bute 13.5 9.3 9.4 12.6 9.3 7.0 8.9 3.6 1.9 1.9 5.7 4.6 5.9 5.8 5.8
Clackmannanshire 25.3 20.0 28.6 24.2 22.8 31.7 35.0 19.1 14.4 10.7 12.1 10.3 13.4 13.4 13.0
Dumfries & Galloway 12.8 9.1 9.3 11.7 10.6 10.6 8.7 3.9 3.8 3.8 5.2 4.0 4.2 4.2 2.4
Dundee City 30.1 29.7 27.0 29.2 27.8 30.2 31.4 11.3 10.7 9.9 12.0 10.2 16.1 16.1 12.3
East Ayrshire 25.5 25.1 28.1 28.9 28.1 28.0 28.0 10.9 10.5 9.2 10.2 8.8 11.0 11.0 10.4
East Dunbartonshire 19.4 19.0 18.8 20.1 20.8 18.4 16.4 13.4 13.0 13.0 14.4 13.7 15.2 15.2 15.1
East Lothian 21.5 17.5 16.8 17.6 16.2 18.7 17.9 4.7 4.3 4.3 5.2 3.9 18.8 18.7 13.2
East Renfrewshire 22.2 22.4 22.2 26.5 23.6 22.5 22.3 10.7 10.5 10.4 11.2 8.6 13.5 13.5 13.2
Edinburgh, City of 24.3 23.0 23.1 17.9 16.7 15.2 13.7 3.4 2.5 2.5 4.7 2.6 3.8 3.8 2.7
Falkirk 13.8 12.6 11.7 12.7 11.3 11.1 13.0 4.4 4.4 4.1 5.2 4.4 10.0 10.0 9.9
Fife 32.0 30.6 29.0 28.8 25.7 28.0 27.9 4.1 3.6 3.5 5.1 3.5 11.4 11.4 11.0
Glasgow City 59.9 60.3 60.1 60.6 59.1 57.5 61.8 41.7 40.9 40.7 41.7 35.9 40.3 40.2 40.6
Highland 18.7 19.4 20.2 20.9 13.9 15.2 12.6 13.4 13.0 12.9 13.7 9.0 11.3 11.3 9.8
Inverclyde 25.9 25.8 27.7 28.2 34.7 34.1 35.0 18.4 18.4 18.3 19.1 18.1 24.0 24.1 22.8
Midlothian 45.2 45.0 44.9 45.9 45.5 41.4 36.4 36.0 35.8 35.6 36.5 35.9 33.9 33.7 29.0
Moray 7.0 5.9 4.0 6.5 13.2 14.8 15.0 3.5 3.3 1.4 4.0 3.7 5.7 5.7 2.5
Na h-Eileanan Siar 4.8 5.0 4.9 5.5 4.8 4.7 4.7 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.9 2.2 3.8 3.9 3.9
North Ayrshire 41.1 39.9 45.2 43.3 39.3 39.9 39.5 17.9 17.8 17.8 18.7 18.1 23.3 23.5 21.0
North Lanarkshire 55.7 56.3 57.8 62.1 67.0 69.6 73.5 24.6 24.0 21.8 23.9 23.7 33.9 33.9 34.0
Orkney Islands 0.7 23.2 23.4 23.9 22.0 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Perth & Kinross 18.7 18.3 19.0 20.8 20.4 16.4 15.2 3.5 3.0 2.9 5.3 2.9 5.3 5.3 5.4
Renfrewshire 32.3 32.0 32.1 33.1 31.9 21.1 30.9 11.1 10.5 9.5 10.8 9.5 21.1 21.1 21.2
Scottish Borders 44.4 44.3 43.3 43.6 40.9 38.4 38.4 18.3 17.7 17.9 16.4 15.1 23.0 22.9 22.8
Shetland Islands 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
South Ayrshire 22.7 20.1 20.4 22.5 24.8 25.0 30.9 7.0 4.7 4.7 6.1 5.0 16.2 16.2 16.2
South Lanarkshire 26.6 28.0 28.6 28.8 28.3 28.0 27.9 10.9 10.6 10.6 11.5 9.8 12.8 12.8 13.1
Stirling 13.2 12.0 12.5 18.6 11.3 9.0 9.7 10.1 8.9 8.0 10.9 3.3 4.3 4.2 4.9
West Dunbartonshire 62.5 67.6 62.0 59.5 60.7 62.1 64.0 42.8 40.3 39.4 37.9 36.2 41.1 41.4 42.3
West Lothian 25.4 25.0 25.3 25.7 24.7 20.3 20.0 10.7 10.4 10.4 10.9 10.2 11.3 11.3 9.9
Scotland 30.1 29.8 30.1 30.9 29.7 28.9 29.7 13.9 13.3 12.8 14.2 12.2 16.4 16.4 15.7

1. Population figures used for each local authority for 2015 are the latest mid-year estimates published by NRS (in this case 2014).
2. Further information on how this data was calculated is available in Annex Section A.7.

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