Policy priorities for property and land in Central Scotland

Abstract

This paper examines policy for land and property in Central Scotland. In the existing UK property literature, there have been few attempts to produce a comprehensive assessment of property market policy (an exception is Jones, 1996). More typically, sectors, regions and specific policy instruments are considered in more detail, usually on a case study basis. In this paper it is asked how coherent property policy is as a whole? The primary criterion by which this is assessed is in terms of urban economic competitiveness. The paper develops a heuristic framework with which to analyse property sector policy. Drawing on evidence from Central Scotland, the paper concludes that Scotland, while distinctive as a property market, does not operate a coherent policy framework for land and property and this inhibits economic competitiveness. The paper identifies a number of policy priorities: (1) property is more important to urban economic competitiveness in Scotland than is implied by the current policy position. (2) The respective tasks, roles and leadership functions of different public agencies with property policy powers need to be clarified and simplified. (3) The Scottish Executive needs to take on a clear property policy responsibility. (4) There is a need for further debate clarifying the purpose of policy intervention in terms of the market failure versus market facilitator basis for public resourcing. (5) A case can be made for a dedicated land agency with additional resources to tackle Glasgow's vacant and derelict land. (6) There is also a case for a simplified close‐ended subsidy, provided it is well designed and can overcome EU restrictions. (7) The property sector would benefit from clear national‐level signals regarding spatial development priorities that feed down to well defined and integrated city‐regional and lower plans.

Keywords:

• property policy
• policy framework
• Scotland

Acknowledgements

The research for this paper is part of the Integrated Case Study of Cities in Central Scotland, co‐funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and Communities Scotland. Thanks to the participants of a workshop of the Scottish Executive Cities Policy Review seminar in Dundee, November 2001, and to participants at a Glasgow City Council research seminar, May 2002. Daniel Mackay provided valuable research input at different stages of this paper. I would also like to acknowledge the comments made by Ivan Turok and by the editor and referees on earlier drafts of this paper. All views, opinions, errors and omissions are, however, my sole responsibility.

Notes

Survey interviews carried out between January and March 2001 in the local authority areas of Glasgow, South & North Lanarkshire, West Lothian and Edinburgh. The companies were selected from the Dun and Bradstreet database. The sample was structured to reflect the distribution (1999) of employment in each location. Thus, larger companies had a better chance of being selected, as there was a bias towards small and medium‐sized companies, due to the small number of larger companies. Companies were selected from manufacturing, utilities, wholesale, transport, communications, financial and business services, hotels, cultural and media industries. Among the firms within the completed sample, 31% were in manufacturing, 34% were in business services, 12% were in transport and communications, 12% were in wholesale activities and 5% operated in financial services. Geographically, Glasgow and Edinburgh based firms each totaled 27% of the sample, and the remaining sample came from West Lothian (15% of the total) and the remainder from North and South Lanarkshire (31%). The author carried out the land and property survey analysis.

EDI was a local authority created land development company, now independent, but still operating to pursue public policy goals as a developer or partner in commercial and residential projects, including urban regeneration initiatives, extending beyond the city council's boundaries.

−2 log likelihood  575.416

Cox & Snell R square  0.112