I wonder what President Franklin D Roosevelt would say about Scotland’s current housing crisis. FDR steered the US through the Great Depression and was once quoted as saying: “Do something. If it works do more of it. If it doesn’t, do something else.”
That seems pretty straightforward, but why are we still struggling to find solutions to our housing woes? Is it time, given the declared housing emergencies around the country, to try something different to address the issues most troubling to the sector?
Nobody would ever pretend that tough decisions are easy to take. It is, however, also true that quick and easy decisions and solutions won’t always produce the best long-term and sustainable results.
Naval barracks at Port Edgar
Let’s look at one issue, the repurposing of old and derelict buildings into quality new homes and how easy or, more pertinently, difficult that is to achieve. First of all, we need to create more interest in tackling these sometimes-awkward development opportunities. Could the Scottish Government not be more active in promoting and prioritising brownfield sites for planning and development?
Development to include community café, museum room and shed group
There are a few examples around the country where developers are taking risks and tackling complex construction projects at abandoned and derelict sites. One such example is Lar Housing Trust’s 16-acre site at the former naval barracks at Port Edgar. This project, as well as repurposing a local eyesore, is set to create 49 new homes, with the development also to include a community café, community museum room as a nod to its colourful and historic past, and space for the local men’s shed group.
These plans have captured the imagination of the local community with 80 tickets for a planned open day, selling out within an hour….and a waiting list of twice that size already asking for a second date.
It’s time for the Scottish Government and local authorities to capture this interest and enthusiasm for such projects and to provide the required resources to ensure well-loved sites that have fallen into total disrepair are brought back to life. The knock-on effect of not just providing new homes, but also regenerating local communities, could be considerable.
The buildings at risk register provides a ready-made list of opportunities to consider and a specialist team tasked with fast tracking such projects through the planning and warrant processes and helping to provide the finance required to save these heritage buildings, could make a considerable impact in fixing the housing emergency. Difficult might be more productive than quick and easy, and as FDR might say, time to do more of it.
