COMMENT Scotland is a small country with big ambitions. As with other parts of the UK industry, the Scottish property world has been affected significantly by the pandemic and, particularly, its impact on how we work.
This makes it an interesting time to be chairing the Scottish Property Federation. It has been an entirely strange phenomenon to see our major cities empty of office, retail and leisure workers, with neither residents nor tourists in the silent streets.
We have heard, through the SPF’s survey of commercial property owners in the early days of lockdown, the issues faced by our members as they encountered severe losses of income and little financial support. This underlined for us that beyond the immediate impact of Covid-19, there were a series of structural changes, particularly in the way that people use and occupy properties, that have been enhanced by the pandemic and will be felt long after current events recede in our collective memories.
Despite the immediate market consequences of Covid-19, the real estate industry will continue to play a significant role in the Scottish economy. We will need to build our way towards economic recovery. We will also, perhaps, change the ways that we live and work, although it will only be with the benefit of hindsight that we understand how enduring societal change will be – for every person happy to “WFH” forever, there is another missing the human aspect of office life.
Net zero ambitions
Scotland has ambitious targets in terms of new buildings being net zero carbon by 2024 – a year earlier than proposed in England – as well as robust commitments to further investment in renewable energy capacity from our major businesses. This investment and the Scottish government’s policy landscape are driving change in the materials with which we build and how we heat and power our spaces.
A major challenge is how improvements can be made to the existing built stock, and how stringent requirements can be incorporated into new buildings. Our overriding ambition is to be a driver of sustainable economic growth.
As we move into a Scottish election year, the SPF will be seeking to influence the thinking of the major political parties to ensure that our ambitions are supported appropriately. We will challenge political leaders, where necessary, to ensure their policy proposals are consistent and align with reality.
A recent example of such challenge has been the proposal to remove the “presumption in favour of development that contributes to sustainable development”, a principle that has been a key strand of planning policy in recent years. This strikes us as inconsistent when juxtaposed with the government’s overall ambition for Scotland. SPF will continue to put up a robust defence of the presumption, especially when other key policy documents such as the replacement of the National Planning Framework are delayed.
15-minute neighbourhoods
Returning to the wider changes in our society, we will continue to see some major challenges for retail portfolios, but also opportunities. Our town centres will become more diverse and this will provide opportunities for us to use our collective skills in design planning and construction – both to repurpose existing spaces and to start afresh.
We are also engaging with local authorities, which are considering some exciting new initiatives. One example is the creation of ‘15-minute’ neighbourhoods, which support the shared ambitions of reducing energy use and adapting to changing demands for home and work spaces, by providing employment and social infrastructure amenities within a walkable 15 minutes of each other. This is an ambitious concept that offers a clear view from local authorities of their vision of how better place-making should take shape.
In pushing forward with all these things, SPF members are mindful of the long-term impact that our developments have and the way that we are sometimes perceived. We will continue to be a strong voice for the industry, highlighting the value of our contribution to society and giving voice to the British Property Federation’s objective to redefine real estate.
Michaela Sullivan is chair of the Scottish Property Federation
