By Liz Hamilton, senior land and planning manager at AS Homes (Scotland) and Briar Homes
THE Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency in May 2024 and yet over two years later, housing starts and completions continue to fall year on year, with no credible action being taken. While the creation of More Homes Scotland is a welcome step towards increasing housing delivery, it is not expected to be fully functional by 2027-28. The housebuilding sector has called for greater coordination and support for years. We cannot afford to lose sight of the barriers preventing homes from being built today.
Last week at the Scottish Construction Summit, I joined the More Homes Scotland panel on the Scottish Housing Summit stage, and the discussion was not how we build more homes, but how we unlock the sites, investment and partnerships needed to deliver them.
At AS Homes and Briar Homes, we know the difference that SME housebuilders can make. Across central Scotland, we deliver both affordable and private homes, support local supply chains, create skilled jobs and invest in communities. We often take on brownfield and complex sites in areas where housing is urgently needed, including sites that others may struggle to make viable.
But ambition alone cannot overcome the practical obstacles facing our industry. Lengthy planning processes create delays, increase costs and undermine viability. Meanwhile, opportunities to secure suitable, deliverable land across central Scotland remain limited. Even where the will to build exists, site contamination, flood risks and infrastructure constraints can make otherwise promising sites unviable before construction begins. These are not problems that can wait for a new national body to find its feet.
More Homes Scotland must therefore be judged on its ability to make a tangible difference on the ground. Its role should go beyond coordinating policy or adding another layer of administration. It must become a centre of expertise, capable of bringing public and private partners together to solve problems and get stalled developments moving. More Homes Scotland needs to appoint an ambitious and commercially aware leadership team that is willing to ask the tough questions and make the changes needed. With house starts at their lowest level since 1997 for social housing and 2013 for private housing, there needs to be urgency and accountability for this regime.
That means having the flexibility and powers to intervene when sites are held up by statutory bodies or local authorities. It also means practical financial support, including funding for early site investigations and infrastructure works that would otherwise prevent development. Addressing these constraints upfront could unlock sites, improve viability and accelerate delivery. It’s also vital to its success to give representatives from the house building sector a seat at the table to educate them and influence decisions.
Crucially, SMEs must be central to this approach. We are often well placed to deliver smaller, complex developments in communities where new housing is needed most. At AS Homes and Briar Homes, we have the team, subcontractor relationships and confidence in our pipeline to build more. Our growing involvement in frameworks, including those with Edinburgh, Link and SPA, also offers opportunities to expand delivery. But to realise that potential, we need a stronger pipeline of viable sites and a system that enables us to invest with confidence.
No single organisation can solve Scotland’s housing emergency alone. The Scottish Government, councils, housing associations, developers and the wider construction industry must work together, with greater flexibility and a shared focus on outcomes.
Ultimately, More Homes Scotland should be measured by the homes it helps deliver, not the processes it creates. The ambition must be to turn difficult sites into viable developments, shorten unnecessary delays and give builders the confidence to invest.
Scotland does not lack the expertise or the willingness to build. What it needs is a system that removes barriers. More Homes Scotland has the potential to help achieve that but its success will depend on how quickly it turns promise into progress.
