Housing
Housing supply is a challenging topic, not just in Scotland, but across the world. Though cities like Edinburgh often get the media coverage as a result of the high cost of housing and the high proportion of properties used as short-term lets, the issue of a lack of appropriate, affordable housing has been a persistent challenge in many rural and island communities for several decades. This is due to demand for housing from people seeking to move in and/or those seeking to purchase second and holiday homes, which outstrips supply in many areas leading to high house prices.
Housing is key to the resilience and wellbeing of rural and island communities - it helps to retain young people who then contribute to local economies and communities, it houses the workforce needed to deliver key services and to start up and staff new businesses. Without it, rural and island communities may be locations where only wealthy older people can afford to live. At the same time, poorly designed new-build estates can damage the social fabric of communities by causing tensions as they often attract people who commute to cities and contribute little to the local economy.
Housing is one of the persistent challenges being explored in ReRIC over the coming years. We will be undertaking data analysis on range of housing-related topics (including affordability, condition, new builds, etc.), looking for ‘good practice’ examples of housing interventions, and hearing the views of rural and island residents. Make sure to keep dropping in for the most recent insights.
