1) Welcome and Introductions
Stewart Maxwell MSP, Minister for Communities and Sport, in the Chair, welcomed members to the meeting and thanked those who had participated in the informal planning meeting on 18 December.
In attendance:
Jonathan Fair Chief Executive, Homes for Scotland
Kennedy Foster Council of Mortgage Lenders, Scotland
Brian Gegan Chair, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Ronnie Jacobs Chair, Homes for Scotland
Caroline Johnston CoSLA (Policy Manager, Community Resourcing Team)
James Jopling Shelter Scotland
Cllr Chris Thompson CoSLA
David Rogers Deputy Director, Housing Markets and Supply, Scottish Government
Nile Istephan Area Director for Lothians, Borders & Fife, Communities Scotland
HSTF Secretariat:
Derek Bearhop Housing Markets and Supply, Scottish Government
Nicola Hay Planning Directorate, Scottish Government
Louise Feenie Housing Markets and Supply, Scottish Government
Apologies:
Cllr Alison Hay COSLA
Cllr Harry McGuigan COSLA
Archie Stoddart Director, Shelter Scotland
Jim Mackinnon Chief Planner, Scottish Government
2) Minutes of the Meeting of 27 November 2007
These were agreed with no matters arising. The approved minutes would be added to the Housing Supply Task Force website.
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3) Future work programme - taking stock:
Stock-taking and informal planning meeting held on 18 December 2007
3.1 The 18 December stock-taking meeting had been productive and most members present had attended. The meeting had concluded that the Task Force needed to maintain its visibility, needed to place itself in a position to influence the key players and needed to narrow its focus to avoid losing the ability to deliver. Two ways of achieving this had been proposed. First, the Task Force should issue a public statement in early Spring, setting out progress and next steps. Second, a seminar for Glasgow & the Clyde Valley should be organised for 8 February, along the same lines as the Lothians seminar. The Lothians event had been very successful in identifying specific developments with barriers, and the planning meeting had considered that four sites (Winchburgh, Wallyford, the Edinburgh Waterfront and the South East Wedge) were worthy of closer examination. It was intended that some preliminary work would be undertaken to understand the particular issues affecting these developments as a prelude to the next phase of Task Force activity which will seek to get to the root of obstacles hampering specific developments around the country.
Joint rural housing seminar with Rural Affairs & Environment Committee held on 10 December 2007
3.2 Several Task Force members had attended this seminar in Aviemore, as had the Secretariat. It was felt that the event had not been as useful as the Lothians seminar. It had identified a range of generic themes requiring medium to long-term action rather than specific barriers which might benefit from short-term intervention. A discussion followed on the merits of holding a further rural seminar. Given that many of the useful points which had emerged from Aviemore were Highlands-focused, it was agreed that an event in the South of Scotland would be beneficial.
Action: HSTF Secretariat to organise South of Scotland seminar in March
Public statement in early Spring
3.3 It was envisaged that the statement would be issued after the Glasgow and South of Scotland seminars, most likely in April. Preparatory work on this could begin imminently. A draft would be discussed at the next full meeting of the Task Force, recognising that this would need to be developed further to take account of the outcomes from the South of Scotland seminar. It would be important for the statement to indicate the specific issues and (as far as possible) the specific developments that would form the next phase of the Task Force's work. Members agreed it would be important to record properly the issues that the Task Force had identified in its work to date and to set out how these would be prioritised and progressed.
Actions:
HSTF Secretariat to prepare preliminary draft of public statement for discussion at the next meeting
Glasgow & the Clyde Valley seminar to be held on 8 February 2008
3.4 The Minister was keen to attend at least part of the seminar. Members emphasised the need to seek outcomes proactively and ensure a focus on new supply across all tenures. It was recognised that some of the issues which might surface would inevitably be different from the Lothians seminar outcomes. The regeneration needs of some areas would be influential and there may also be rural elements too given part of the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park falls within the locality.
Action: HSTF Secretariat to finalise arrangements for the Glasgow & Clyde Valley event.
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4) Thematic Study - Building Capacity:
4.1 Jonathan Fair spoke to his paper on the capacity of the housebuilding industry. Members agreed the paper was very helpful. A discussion followed on the issues associated with capacity, especially skills and training for young people, as well as the many obstacles which the industry faces in attracting young people into construction and retaining them when culture within the industry currently favours sub-contracting. There was seen to be merit in pursuing direct engagement on the key issues with Construction Skills, whether face to face or in correspondence.
4.2 It was noted that the Construction Skills Labour Market Intelligence Report 2007 had estimated that 6,830 construction workers would be required to 2011 to meet current demand, and that this did not take account of the impact of the Scottish Government's proposed 35,000 annual new build target. It was agreed that the Secretariat should examine this report and identify areas which could be revised to reflect the proposed output levels. The paper also touched on the findings of the Homes for Scotland members' survey. This had a response rate of 30% and it was agreed that this would be revisited with the Task Force's backing, although it would make sense to do so once the Secretariat had updated the Labour Market Intelligence Report.
4.3 To progress the workstream in parallel with the Task Force's geographical work, it was agreed that a Building Capacity Sub-Group would be established. Jonathan Fair agreed to lead this work, involving Homes for Scotland, COSLA and the Scottish Government. The Sub-Group would report back on its progress to the 6th meeting.
4.4 Specific activities suggested for consideration by the Building Capacity Sub-Group included:
- Engaging with Construction Skills and relevant Scottish Government education policy contacts
- Contacting Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire who have been active on this subject
- Enlisting the help of an academic to collate evidence and provide a reliable overview
- Examining the Construction Skills Labour Market Intelligence Report 2007
- Examining data collated for CoSLA by Directors of Planning
Actions:
Jonathan Fair to lead a Building Capacity Sub-Group
- Jonathan Fair to revisit the Homes for Scotland survey
- COSLA to provide details of any past work on capacity by Directors of Planning
HSTF Secretariat to:
- Review the Calcutt report, with input from Homes for Scotland
- Arrange for engagement with Construction Skills and Scottish Enterprise
- Review the Labour Market Intelligence Report
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5) Thematic Study - Public Sector Land:
5.1 Caroline Johnston introduced COSLA's scoping paper on the public sector land study, which focused on potential actions for local and central government. The Improvement Service review noted in the paper had since been completed.
5.2 A discussion followed on the difficulties for local authorities in balancing competing priorities when surplus land presented opportunities to realise good returns. The generic challenges of matching planning timescales and infrastructure investments plans were also raised. Working with the grain of Scotland's plan-led system was vital, and it was especially important for large sites with potential for housing development to be introduced through the planning system as early as possible. It was expected that the issues associated with infrastructure planning would be a focus of some of the Lothians developments to be investigated.
5.3 COSLA's paper noted the survey which it is undertaking with the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers and the Scottish Society of Directors of Planning. It was expected that this would highlight issues rather than reveal the extent of surplus land or its suitability for housing. Councillor Thompson agreed that COSLA would now seek specific data on the surplus land owned by local authorities and any asset management procedures that are in place. Members agreed that COSLA should revise its paper to include the new data and to broaden the scope of the paper to cover all public sector bodies if possible. The current paper was written from a local authority point of view and members were keen to understand the key public sector land issues across the board. It was hoped that this study could be considered again at the meeting after next.
5.4 It was noted that the Scottish Government was conducting an Asset Management Review at present. Its scope did not include NHS assets, on which there was a parallel review, nor cover Scottish Water and rural or environmental bodies such as Forestry Commission Scotland and the agricultural research institutes. The draft Review conclusions include recommendations on standardisation of practice across Scottish Government and Non-Departmental Public Bodies and the creation of a central database. It was not thought to have identified a great deal of surplus land. The Review report was expected to be published later in January and the Secretariat would circulate the report to members.
5.5 Nile Istephan reported on his involvement in the Edinburgh Community Planning Partnership (CPP) exercise to identify surplus public sector land for housing through early forward planning. NHS Lothian were involved in this work, although UK bodies such as Railtrack and the Ministry of Defence were not participating. The work was a short-term initiative and Nile agreed to report back to members on its emerging conclusions, which may have relevance for other localities.
Actions:
COSLA to collect data on surplus land owned by local authorities for inclusion in a broader paper on public sector land and asset management practices.
- Scottish Government to consider how comparable data should be collected from other public sector bodies, specifically the NHS.
- COSLA and Secretariat to work together to make progress with this study and report to the 6th meeting of the Task Force
- Nile Istephan to provide a future update on the Edinburgh CPP work
- HSTF Secretariat to circulate Scottish Government Asset Management Review report
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6) Thematic Study - Community Engagement:
6.1 James Jopling introduced Shelter's paper on community engagement. It posed a number of questions about how best to take forward this workstream. Members agreed that action should not duplicate existing work, and were mindful of the current advice already provided through the National Standards for Community Engagement (Communities Scotland, 2004) and, more recently, Planning Advice Note 81: Community Engagement, which was still in the early stages of implementation. A Planning Inclusion & Environmental Regulation Team had also been established within the Scottish Government's Planning Directorate, with a particular focus on community engagement, and it was noted that Planning Aid Scotland also take on community engagement work.
6.2 It was considered that there is a different backdrop for proposed developments in regeneration areas, where building activity will often enhance the local area. In these situations, it is easier to make the case for development than in areas where a community's starting point might be to protect the area from change. It was also felt that an increase in supply will inevitably see increased objection and this may be unavoidable.
6.3 The following suggestions for the next version of the paper were offered in discussion:
- Look at examples of both small developments and developments in rural areas.
- Tease out the real issues from the examples used.
- Recognise that planning policy is not implemented consistently, especially in rural areas for dispersed developments. It can be difficult for local people to understand why developments in their areas proceed when others, in seemingly similar circumstances, do not.
- It was important to communicate the need for development and this should be underpinned by specific evidence.
- Lessons could be learned from Local Development Fora, which had successfully communicated the reasons for developments in Highland and South Lanarkshire.
- The experience of Planning Aid Scotland was seen as a valuable contribution to this study.
6.4 Some potential roles for the Task Force and member organisations were suggested:
- The Task Force could support local planning authorities by arguing for housing development in specific areas.
- The Task Force could tackle inconsistency in implementation of planning policy.
- The Task Force could promote best practice at the national level, without duplicating existing guidelines.
- Developers and local authorities could have clear joint responsibility for engaging with communities.
- SFHA could help its members to engage with communities, especially for smaller developments in rural areas.
6.5 Members agreed to gather evidence of good practice and innovation, drawing from their organisations' experiences, and to provide this to Shelter for incorporation within its revised paper. It was agreed that the Task Force would add most value by using its authority carefully to support good practice and influence behaviour rather than seeking to replicate the work of others.
Actions:
- SFHA and COSLA to provide examples of good practice and innovation in community engagement to Shelter before the end of February.
- Shelter to draw upon input from Planning Aid and others to prioritise those actions with which the Task Force can be most effective.
- Shelter to revise its paper and report on progress with the study to the 7th HSTF meeting.
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7) Any Other Business
The following points were noted:
- The Rural Affairs & Environment Committee had agree the remit for its Rural Housing Inquiry and this focused, in the main, on housing supply issues, including land supply and planning. The Secretariat would circulate links to the Committee's webpages.
- The letter from Susan Torrance (Chief Executive, Highland Housing Alliance) had been circulated to members (paper HSTF 4-6). It would inform the Task Force's consideration of rural areas.
- Some members would have difficulty attending the Glasgow & Clyde Valley seminar but all would confirm their availability to the Secretariat.
8) Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 26 February 2008 at the Scottish Government's Victoria Quay office, Leith, Edinburgh.
The meeting will have an outline agenda as follows:
- Feedback from Glasgow & Clyde Valley seminar
- Preparations for South of Scotland seminar
- Consideration of draft public statement
HSTF Secretariat
February 2008
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