Macdonald Hotel, Aviemore

The aim of SEDA Land’s Building Futures series is to stimulate more sustainable placemaking in rural Scotland in order to reverse depopulation – through a focus on housing, communal spaces, workplaces, economic development and infrastructure, including good broadband connections.

In the fourth Conversation, we will look at what the Scottish Government can do to speed up the creation of more sustainable communities, referring back to obstacles identified in the previous discussions:

• How can communities access more land to build new homes?

• Can social value be clearly defined as a legally-binding benchmark, attracting recognition of the wider and multiple benefits that sustainable placemaking brings including better health? Could this justify the redirection of funds from other government departments such as NHS Scotland?

• Can funds be better distributed between communities and intermediary organisations such as the Communities Housing Trust?

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