Opinion

Small and medium-sized enterprises are often described as the backbone of Scotland’s economy and in housebuilding, that statement rings true, writes Paul Kelly. SMEs like ours build homes but we also sustain local supply chains, create skilled jobs, and invest directly into the communities in

Scotland's housing crisis is being worsened by systemic barriers, including planning costs, land shortages, and slow decision-making, that are preventing the industry from building the homes the country urgently needs, writes Andrew Duncan. Scotland has no shortage of ambition when it comes to housi

Following recent Competition and Markets Authority enforcement action against companies involved in bid‑rigging and other anti‑competitive practices, Colin Miller, a legal director in the corporate team at BTO, issues a timely reminder that construction remains a priority sector for regulatory s

If it works, East Kilbride’s masterplan for a new way of town centre living could prove to be a blueprint for declining towns across Scotland, argues Stuart Harrow, director of transportation at Dougall Baillie Associates. Just as East Kilbride transformed Scotland’s civic landscape in 1

Cedric Cools, partner and head of ESG at Rider Levett Bucknall, explores how the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 will reshape decision-making across the built environment. Regulatory reform is par for the course in the built environment, but the introduction of the E

Alan Stewart examines the UK government's push for greater domestic steel use, arguing that while well-intentioned, the policy risks raising costs and constraining investment in steel-dependent sectors – particularly in Scotland. The UK government’s ambition to increase domestic steel us

Minister for public finance Ivan McKee and chief planner Dr Fiona Simpson highlight the progress made by the National Planning Hub in its first year of operation.

Barry McKeown, a real estate partner and head of Shoosmiths’ Glasgow office, reflects on the key issues from a Scotland perspective that arose from last week’s MIPIM 2026 conference. Last week, I and several colleagues joined more than 20,000 delegates from across the global property, in

Market sentiment towards Scotland for residential investment, specifically for build to rent, has strengthened after recent rent control exemptions, which Ryden's residential investment & development head of agency, David Fraser, sees as a huge opportunity for Glasgow and Edinburgh.   After

With fewer cars, but with bus, tram or train options nearby, residents of a new 950-home development on the western outskirts of Edinburgh will benefit from an embarrassment of riches in terms of transport, writes Stuart Harrow, director of transportation at Dougall Baillie Associates. Edinburg

Geoff O’Brien, relationship director for Scotland at Assetz Capital, discusses what’s really needed to stimulate housebuilding across Scotland, from a focus on bringing in new planning talent to simplifying the process for smaller, SME housebuilder-led schemes. The Scottish housing crisi

Sarah Stuart, construction law partner at Thorntons, highlights the risks of project overruns and shares how to structure contracts in order to deal with this. As attention turns once again to Holyrood with Scottish Parliamentary elections approaching, it's worth remembering that there was a time wh

Gordon Hunt, divisional director (Glasgow) at Clancy Consulting, examines why Scotland’s cladding remediation programme risks falling behind unless delivery accelerates. Nearly a decade on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which claimed 72 lives and reshaped how we think about building safety,

Having studied planning application trends as a litmus test for whether land supply for housing is running out in Scotland, development & investment manager Jake Poole suggests that while the picture is not bleak across the board just yet, cracks are emerging, and it is a slow ship to turn. In r

Tax expert Tony Cochrane discusses HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) recent shift from a lenient enforcement period to a strict compliance regime regarding the VAT Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC) within the construction industry, outlining the specific criteria for its application and offering practica