Support SME builders to address Scotland's housing crisis
Like much of the UK, the country faces a severe shortage of housing, with the Scottish Government announcing an official housing emergency in May last year. In fact, according to its latest report there were 40,685 homelessness applications recorded in Scotland last year, an increase of four per cent on the previous 12 months.
We hear much about the new government’s commitment towards housebuilding, but scepticism remains as to whether they will be able to hit the proposed targets. Ministers in Scotland are already coming under fire at a time of record breaking homelessness statistics.
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Hide AdLabour has just over a year until the next Scottish election, and in that time they need to retain the support of the country’s voters. With homeownership and the property crisis a key focus for Scotland, the government has an excellent opportunity to maintain confidence in their leadership should they address these areas.


At Together, we firmly believe that the answer lies with SME housebuilders, but what is clear is that they need more support from both the government and lenders. Since 2017, the proportion of housing in Scotland delivered by SME housebuilders has halved.
Further research from Together has found that SME business owners and lenders based in Scotland are keen to invest an average of £1,030,499 into their business of the next two years. However, the same study showed that 19 per cent believe that a lack of investment breaks and incentives from local and national government are creating barriers.
Planning issues in particular have proven a huge barrier in the delivery of housing. It is positive to see the government setting out actions to address the emergency in its Planning and Housing Emergency Delivery Plan, but the statistics that drove this still look bleak. A report released the previous day showed that despite a 29 per cent decrease in the volume of major housing applications decided, the average processing timeframe has increased from 39 to 60 weeks from the previous year.
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Hide AdShortage of labour and materials too is a worry; and has rendered numerous projects across Scotland unworkable. The government needs to provide more support in this area, figures have shown that 26,000 extra construction workers will be needed by 2028 to meet demand, of which we are falling short by 5,000 currently. We hope to see more investment into training the next generation of tradespeople.


Notably, Scotland doesn’t lack the available land to develop. A study we conducted last year found that over 93,000 properties are sat abandoned and derelict across the country, which could deliver nearly £18.5billion in value if redeveloped; though to achieve this we must see planning eased.
An excellent example of how this can work is our customer Shepha Properties. Founded in 2018 by Niyi and Elizabeth Oludipe, Shepha Properties is Scotland-based SME property investment company that specialises in transforming old properties across Edinburgh and the wider country into high quality homes.
They have made it their mission to tackle the Scottish housing shortage one family at a time, employing a simple model of securing old, empty or derelict properties and developing them into high quality living accommodation for professionals, young couples and growing families.
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Hide AdIts most recent project was the conversion of a derelict office in Morningside, Edinburgh, which had been lying empty for over 10 years. The property had been part of a larger development completed in 2009 but the developer abandoned their original plans to use the unit as an office. It sits next to historical landmark ‘Wild West’; once an American-inspired advertisement for South Western Furniture Company, and now a popular tourist hotspot.
The fact that Niyi and Elizabeth have found success in rejuvenating these abandoned properties is the perfect case study on how SME housebuilders can deliver. We have now completed over 20 projects with them, and expect to do more in the future.
The industry, backed by the government, must now reassess how to best support housebuilders. At Together, we remain dedicated to doing all we can to helping organisations across Scotland access the finance required to deliver the housing we so desperately need.
Steven Clark, corporate relationship director at Together
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