West Lothian Council Backs Scottish Housing Plan

0:00It's April 29th, I'm Cory with the story. This is Edinburgh News Today, driven by AI. West Lothian's council executive just backed the Scottish government's push to tweet planning laws and tackle the national housing crunch. They're on board with the Housing Action Emergency Plan from last year, aimed at turning approved sites into actual homes faster. But they drew a line at Blanket Taxes on Landowners sitting on empty plots, saying that's too broad a brush. Others argue there's already plenty of tools in place, like letting permissions laps or yanking sites from development plans. Instead, they want targeted fixes for real hold-ups, especially where permissions are technically active, but nothing's moving. That could free up infrastructure, like roads and services for quicker builds. The county's been hit hard, one of the first in Scotland to declare a full housing emergency from skyrocketing homelessness and demand. Some months saw mostly commercial projects pop up in the last quarter of 2025, with barely any affordable units.

1:01Blank goes to things like scrapping local ties for council housing, landlords bailing from the private rental game, and its spot between Glasgow and Edinburgh, juicing demand, planning officer Margaret Stone laid it out clear, focused on stalled sites with stuff like council tax on unfinished units or permission rebokes win. Delays are the owner's fault. They stress diverse homes too, bigger range of sizes, more bungalows to speed up affordable delivery without piling extra enforcement costs on local councils. This cautious nod pass without debate, setting the stage for Holyrood to refine those laws and actually get shovels in the ground where it counts.