Town Centre Living Report

February2023 MOREHOMESATTHEHEARTOFGREATPLACES TownCentreLiving 1.TownCentreLiving TownCentreLiving(TCL)isakeypolicyaspirationfortheScottishGovernment,localauthoritiesandawiderangeofotherpublic,privateandthirdsectorbodies.Itbuildsuponstrongfoundationsofstrategicplaceplanningandsupportskeyprinciplesaroundinclusion,wellbeingandsustainability. Thedevelopmentofhousingthatbringsmorepeopletolivewithinourtowncentrescanhaveamajorroleincreatingstrongandsustainableplaces,aswellassupportingkeypolicyaimsaroundactivetravel,affordableandindependentliving,walkableneighbourhoods,thewellbeing economy,netzero,andthere-useofexistingbuiltassets. TCLcanunderpintheresilienceofmanyofScotland’splaces,butitneedstobedoneinawaythatdeliverstherighthomes,intherightplaces,fortherightreasons. Therehas,however,beenlimitedTCLactivityacrossScotlandandsometownswheretherehasbeenlittle,orevenno,newtowncentrehousingdevelopmentforaverylongtime. OverSummerandAutumn2022,aShortLifeWorkingGroupformedtoinvestigatetheissueswith,andopportunitiesfor,thedeliveryofmoretowncentrehousing.Thisreportpresentsasummaryofthefindingsofthegroup.[SeeAppendix1fordetailsofthegroupandtheapproachadopted]. Despitestrongpolicysupport,thereareawiderangeofissuesandconstraintsthatmake TCLprojectsdifficulttodeliver.Thisreportacknowledgesthattherearebigbarriers,butitalsopresentsindividualprojectsandlocalplace-basedprogrammesthataresuccessfullydeliveringTCLprojects. Themessageisthatit’scomplexbutnotimpossible. Byharnessingtheeconomic,demographic,wellbeingandnetzeroopportunitiesthatTCLoffers,wecandelivermorehomesattheheartofgreatplaces.Aswellaspresentingthechallengesandconstraints,thisreportalsopresentssome ofthesuccessesthatplacescanlearnfromtosupportdeliveryofnewTCLproposalsandalsotoimprovecurrentproposals–domoreanddobetter. Figure1:WhatPeopleBring Housingbringspeople...andpeoplebring: Activity activeplacesfeelsafe andsecure Animation animated placesareattractive Efficiency livinglocallyuseslessresource Spend fundamentalforbusinessestothrive Resilience busyserviceswillbe sustained 2.StrategicContext forTownCentreLiving PolicyAlignment “Wewillputplaceattheheartofourwork,investinginourtowncentresandmakingiteasierforhomestobetheheartofstrongcommunities” Housingto2040,ScottishGovernment,March2021 TownCentreLivingisakeypolicyambitionforScottishGovernmentacrossplace,housing,regeneration,planningandawiderangeofotherpolicyareas. Thereisclearalignmentandgoodstrategicfit formoreTCLdevelopmentstocomeforward.AsshowninFigure2(adjacent),thenationalcontextsupportsthelocalagenda,withTCLalmostinvariablyfeaturingintown/citycentrestrategiesandlocalplaceplans. TCLisacknowledgedasanimportanttoolindeliveringimprovedoutcomesforcommunities:forthepeoplewhobenefitfromlivinginthehouses,forthebusinesseswhobenefitfromtheresidents’spendingpower,andforthewidercommunity,visitorsandworkerswhoenjoyamoreactive,vibrantandresilienttowncentre. Despitethiscontext,thefindingsfromourreviewindicatesthatthedeliveryofTCLprojectshasbeenlimitedinvolume,scopeandscale,andmanytowncentresremainrelativelyunpopulated. TogainabetterunderstandingofthedemandforTCL,SFTcommissionedanalysis1thatidentified arangeof‘push’and‘pull’factorsthatinfluencepeople’sviewsaroundhousingchoice.Thesefactorscombineandinfluencepeople’sperceptionabouttheattractivenessofaplace,andtheiropinionsofwhatitwouldbeliketolivein. Theyinclude: •proximitytoplacesofworkandstudy; •thequalityofthephysicalenvironmentandaccesstogreenspaces; •therangeofservicesandfacilities,includingpublictransportchoices; •housingqualityandchoice,includingcost,size,typeandtenure;and •negativeissues–forexamplepollution,crimeandperceptionsofsafety. Themostattractivetowns–fromaTCLperspective–arethosethatoffergoodphysicalenvironmentsandgreenspacesinsafeandattractiveplaceswithgoodtransportandotherservices,andamixofhousingchoices. 1TownCentreLiving,Rettie&Co,July2022 “LocalDevelopmentPlansshouldprovideaproportionoftheirLocalHousingLandRequirementsincityandtowncentresandbeproactiveinidentifyingopportunitiestosupportresidentialdevelopment” NSET NPF4 Housingto 2040 TCAP2 CC Taskforce y c i l o P P l l e a L v c a r e C T P r T e i v n i c t c i p A l e e T c o n w e i n l i s C e e R n t ic r e m s o n Fi r o s c t E x V i e H r t r e a y a a M k d S t t u h n n p e e & g o r m A t W st i l v e e a ll v e c b n o N e I L a i n P t e i g I o I h n t a d l r P a o w l i r c o y F N C e t g 2 o i n 0 g n n i h h t e o e M b r s i x o m e u n Z t u u P t r n t e h e o o N o r d i s v n E ExtractofPolicy27ofNationalPlanningFramework4 Figure2:TCLPolicyEnvironment Policy27ofNPF4 e)Developmentproposalsforresidentialdevelopmentwithincity/towncentreswillbesupported,including: existinguseisnolongerviableandtheproposedchangeofuseaddstoviabilityandvitalityofthearea i.Newbuildresidentialdevelopmentiii.Theconversion,orre-useofvacantupper floorsofpropertieswithincity/towncentresfor ii.There-useofvacantbuildingswithincity/townresidential.centreswhereitcanbedemonstratedthatthe 3.ProjectDelivery Ap