This event will highlight the crucial role that public bodies can play in working proactively with communities to tackle Scotland’s rural housing crisis.

The briefing follows the publication of the Scottish Land Commission’s Land for Rural Housing report, which sets out a strategic approach to mobilising public land for housing development. The report emphasises the need for stronger public sector leadership to create the certainty, land supply, and opportunity required to make rural housing delivery viable.

CHT will share insights from their work with the Colonsay Community Development Company, which successfully delivered much-needed homes and business units on the island. Their experience demonstrates how partnerships between communities, landowners, and public bodies can help unlock land for housing in areas where market-led development has fallen short.

Alongside hearing from CHT, the briefing will outline key recommendations from the Scottish Land Commission’s report, including:

• Creating a long-term pipeline of land for housing by using the powers of existing public bodies to buy, sell, and hold land.
• Establishing a capital fund to recycle proceeds from public land sales into further acquisitions and development.
• Requiring public landowners to identify land suitable for rural housing.
• Updating Compulsory Purchase Order rules to make them easier to use when needed.
• Providing better guidance and support to help public bodies release land at effective prices.
• Focusing public support for Local Place Plans in areas with economic potential or declining populations.

This briefing is aimed at planning representatives, housing professionals, and local authority staff involved in housing and development planning, as well as community groups looking to engage with land use and housing solutions.

By hearing first-hand how communities and public bodies can work together to enable housing, attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how they can take a more proactive role in delivering solutions for rural housing challenges.

Event Details:

    Land for Rural Housing: Supporting the Delivery of New Rural Homes
    Wednesday 19 March
    12pm – 1pm
    Online

For more information on the event or to register, please visit here or contact info@landcommission.gov.scot.