Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land: Case Studies

These projects show some of the benefits of reusing land and properties including regeneration, creating jobs and tackling climate change.

Levern Water Revival, Barrhead, East Renfrewshire

The area around the Levern Water in Barrhead town centre had been derelict for decades. This had a negative impact on local communities and the town.

The project has strengthened the town centre and provided riverside public greenspace by diverting the river from an industrial channel to a new riverbed. The river runs through Barrhead and is now wider and more natural. It can absorb floodwater better and it encourages fish and wildlife. An attractive riverside greenspace and path network has been created for locals to enjoy in Carlibar Park, close to the shops and amenities in Barrhead town centre.

The project was led by East Renfrewshire Council with the support of £1.1 million of funding from the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme and an additional £1.6 million from SEPA’s Water Environment Fund.

Eden Campus Solar PV, Fife

The village of Guardbridge in the North East of Fife sits 4 miles from St Andrews. There used to be a Paper Mill but it closed in 2009 with the loss of 260 jobs which was a major blow for the local economy.

Shortly after this, the site was acquired by the University of St Andrews. The east of the site was derelict land previously reclaimed from the River Tay Estuary. It had been used as a landfill area to store waste from the papermaking process until the early 1990’s. The wider site, now known as the Eden Campus, is being transformed following significant investment from the University, the UK and Scottish Governments, Fife Council and other partners as part of the Tay Cities Region Deal, creating space for low carbon innovation and other sectors to flourish alongside the academic community.

Ambitious University plans to meet net zero targets by 2035 were given the seal of approval in May 2022 when its new solar farm was unveiled by the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy. The one-megawatt ground solar photovoltaic (PV) development – backed by a Scottish Funding Council loan and supported by £591,000 from the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund – provides electricity to the campus further reducing the University’s overall carbon footprint by approximately 5%.

The Vacant and Derelict Land Fund contributed towards preparing the ground works before the solar arrays were installed.

The University is at the heart of world-leading research into harnessing green energy with a strong relationship between industry and academia. The Eden Campus is now being made bigger to be used for research and development and to work together with business.

Gartcosh Business Interchange, North Lanarkshire

Fusion Assets is the arm’s length property development and regeneration company of North Lanarkshire Council.

The company specialises in the redevelopment of brownfield land by using a mixture of public and private finance. Much of the company’s success is due to having a clear pathway from the outset that delivers both environmental and economic benefits in return for the initial public investment in a site.

The former Gartcosh Steelworks site is a great example of how the Fusion Assets model works to unlock development and transform sites.

Fusion Assets purchased land at Gartcosh Industrial Park and carried out a programme of enabling works funded through the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund. This included site restoration and the construction of a new access road. The land was subsequently transferred into a public-private joint venture company to undertake the development.

Once completed and let, the scheme was sold on allowing Fusion Assets to reinvest the proceeds from the sale in further regeneration activity. The new industrial development represented the first private sector investment in the former Gartcosh Steelworks site since it closed in 1985 with the loss of 700 jobs.

Low carbon affordable housing, Cromlet, Invergordon, Highland

Restoration of the site will support the development of 93 affordable homes which will contribute to meeting the local demand for housing. The newbuild houses will exceed building standards, building in affordable warmth, reducing fuel poverty, and contributing to meeting CO2 reduction targets.

The houses proposed will be affordable and in a range of sizes. Properties will range from small flats to family houses, all of which are wheelchair accessible on the ground floor.

The location and level nature of the site also means a good proportion of the properties are designed to be wheelchair liveable, or easily adapted to be owing to our future-proofed /flexible design.