Scottish Greens to deliver ‘rural housing revolution’
The Scottish Greens have pledged to deliver a rural housing revolution to ensure people across rural and island communities can stay, work and build their lives in the communities they call home.
The party will build 2,700 new social homes, tackle long-term empty properties, and prioritise local housing needs over second homes and holiday lets.
The party will also support community-led housing, local housing needs assessments, flexible building standards, and funding models that reflect the higher costs, smaller-scale developments and supply chain challenges that are faced by rural and island communities.
The party’s co-leader Gillian Mackay has said that rural and island communities need policies shaped around their distinct needs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the realities of fragile housing markets, depopulation, stretched local services and higher construction costs.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said:
“Rural and island communities are at the heart of Scotland’s identity and our future, but for too long they have been treated as an afterthought by decision-makers that do not really understand the realities they face.
“Housing is one of the biggest issues facing rural Scotland. It shapes whether young people can stay in the places they grew up, whether families can put down roots, whether key workers can live near the services they provide, and whether local schools, shops, health centres and community spaces can survive and thrive.
“Housing policy must reflect the higher costs, longer supply chains and practical challenges of building homes in rural Scotland. But this is not just about bricks and mortar, it is about the future of communities that have too often been priced out, hollowed out or left behind.
“The Scottish Greens will deliver a rural housing revolution, with 2,700 new social homes in rural and island communities focused on the places facing the worst shortages and the highest costs. We will also support community-led housing, ensuring that community housing trusts are properly funded.
“It is also crucial that we end the scandal of long-term empty homes, second homes and holiday lets sitting unused while local people are priced out.
“Fundamentally, we believe homes should be for living in, not something to exploit for profit while people are being forced away from the places they were born in.
“A vote for the Scottish Greens on 7th May is a vote to ensure that Scotland’s rural and island communities finally get the investment and support they need to thrive.”
