Scotland ‘should build more new towns’: Ruth Davidson

Scotland should build a generation of new towns to help ease the country’s housing shortage, the Scottish Conservative leader has said.

Ruth Davidson will argue that radical solutions are needed to ensure young people have a realistic chance of buying a home in a speech in Edinburgh. She will also claim that the country is facing the biggest housing crisis since after the Second World War.

The Scottish government said it had a good track on affordable homes, and political opponents of Davidson accused her of hypocrisy, pointing out that Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s right-to-buy scheme has been widely blamed for the current shortage of social housing.

The call for a series of new towns was initially made by the independent Scottish Housing Commission, set up by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, two years ago. Its report said that as many as eight new communities are required across Scotland.

Davidson argues that new villages such as Chapelton of Elsick outside Aberdeen should be the way forward.

She wants the Scottish government to act on encouraging similar developments, and for new powers to be given to local authorities over new town development if necessary.

In her speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research, she will say that ‘market failure’ is depriving thousands of young people the ability to buy and own their home.

She will say: “The last time we had a housing crisis on this scale was in the aftermath of World War Two.

"Back then, politicians had the courage to act in order to get building. We now need to find the same courage to address today's needs.

"It is time to seize the moment - and look at a series of new generation new towns."

Responding to Davidson, Angela Constance, Communities Secretary, said: “We have delivered over 68,000 affordable homes since 2007, reintroduced council housing and have supported more than 23,000 people into home ownership.

"By ending the right to buy we have increased the supply of affordable homes.

“We are on track to deliver even more houses by 2021 with our commitment to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes - including 35,000 social homes, backed by over £3 billion investment during the lifetime of this parliament," she added.

"And we've delivered greater action and investment to bring empty homes back in to use - a cost-effective way to increase housing and aide community regeneration."