Opinion

John Rodger discusses the challenges faced by the housebuilding sector in Scotland, following the closure of Stewart Milne, recent cutbacks by other firms, highlighting the need for innovative funding solutions from both the UK and Scottish governments to prevent a housing crisis. Last month’s

Craig McLaren and Susan Rintoul set out the findings of the National Planning Improvement Champion’s call for ideas and outline how it is shaping the way we measure the success of planning.

With a consultation now underway about a similar post-Grenfell Building Safety Levy to one introduced to impose a levy on certain new builds in England, Ledingham Chalmers LLP partner David Scott looks at what might happen north of the border. After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the UK Gover

Rosie Gollan and Francesca Macmillan from law firm Womble Bond Dickinson discuss the Scottish Government's plans for construction in 2024 and 2025.

Richard Campbell, the new chair of the Institution of Structural Engineers Scotland, highlights how structural engineering is assisting efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Due to the combined understanding of the art and science of structural engineering, there have been many significant contribut

Peter Reekie, chief executive at Scottish Futures Trust, looks ahead to what 2024 has in store for construction and infrastructure in Scotland, and sets out one area that all organisations should make a priority over the next 12 months. “The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it

Matthew Aitchison, associate, valuation & advisory at Knight Frank Scotland, highlights the key points from the Scottish Government's proposed Heat in Buildings Bill and shares what steps landlords and occupiers should begin to take to prepare. The Scottish Government has released its

Following September’s grand opening of the South Harbour at the Port of Aberdeen, Turner & Townsend's UK head of project management Garry Murphy highlights the firm's role in the programme, particularly the importance of project controls. In September, the grand opening

Kevin Reid looks at why supporting communities is more than a choice for The Cruden Group. With the season of goodwill in full swing, it’s a poignant time to reflect on how important it is for businesses to embed social value at the heart of everything they do. This has certainly become a

In light of the recent housing emergency declared by the City of Edinburgh Council, Springfield Group CEO Innes Smith argues that collaborative working between the public and private sectors must result in review, action and crucially, an increase in positive planning decisions, to truly make a

Perceptive Communicators non-executive director Ed Monaghan discusses the importance of giving your communications team a seat at the table from the very beginning of a long-term regeneration/infrastructure project and not waiting until a crisis occurs to engage their expertise. Long-term regenerati

Bruce Robertson, lending manager for Scotland at specialist property finance lender Atelier, looks at the challenges that Scotland’s housing market is facing in 2024 and beyond. It is no surprise that Edinburgh Council and, most recently, Glasgow Council have declared housing emergencies. The

Alan Ferns, director of structural engineering at Dougall Baillie Associates, offers advice to building owners and operators affected by RAAC. Panics come and panics go in the pragmatic world of engineering. It is part of the job to identify potentially intractable problems – and then bend the

Proposed new measures to tackle unsafe cladding in Scotland will have “significant consequences” for the country’s real estate industry when adopted, writes Graham Horsman. The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill – expected to be passed by mid-2024 – is

Caitriona Jordan, head of retrofit at Built Environment Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), Sara Edmonds, head of citizen engagement at BE-ST, and co-director of the National Retrofit Hub (NRH), and Rachael Owens, co-director of NRH, share their insights from the International Retrofit Conference. As th