Opinion

The Edinburgh housing market remains a law unto itself and demand for good family homes keeps prices bubbling, writes Kirsten Nicolson, who discusses recent residential property trends in the capital. As the old year slips away, home buyers and sellers – as well as property professionals &ndas

Land expert Martin Andrews outlines the role that Wemyss and March Estates' expansion of Longniddry can play in tackling Scotland's housing emergency. Whether tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years ago, every parcel of our built environment was once green and fertile land. As a land manager, in

Following on from the recent Scottish Budget, Jim Baxter, who has been financial director at Allanwater Homes for the past 27 years, outlines what he believes can be done to help address Scotland’s housing shortage, alongside his thoughts on improving the country’s planning system. The c

CMS partner Caroline Maciver highlights what the Scottish Government has in store for 2025 in terms of cladding remediation. As this year comes to a close, Scotland’s housing minister Paul McLennan has given some indications of what to expect next year in respect of cladding remediation.

It’s the time of year to reflect on what the Institute and the wider construction community learned in 2024 and what we should take forward into 2025, writes Caroline Gumble, CEO at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). CIOB members and our partners in the wider construction community wi

Thomas & Adamson director Zander Muego highlights five opportunities or challenges that he believes are likely to shape construction in 2025. After the challenges of the pandemic and its immediate aftermath, many people would have hoped that 2024 would prove more predictable. But, between stubbo

The Construction Industry Training Board’s CEO, Tim Balcon, unveils what he thinks the year ahead looks like for the homebuilding industry.  The homebuilding challenge will continue to put the construction sector under pressure in 2025 and will need wholescale, ongoing collaboration cross

When retrofitting listed buildings, Thomas & Adamson director Hamish Paterson suggests that the main concern is finding the balance between modern sustainability goals and protecting history and heritage in our towns and cities. Decarbonisation of the built environment is a complex challenge, wi

Federation of Master Builders Scotland director Gordon Nelson looks back at the big issues of 2024 and ahead to the 2025 Master Builder Awards.  As we approach the end of the year, I have reflected on what the key issues have been for FMB members across Scotland. The sources being from the many

Very few in Scotland’s real estate sector are currently satisfied with the existing planning system. The question then is how best to alleviate the issues that currently challenge the public and private sector parties with an interest in this key industry. Lee Murphy, a planning consultan

Jocelyne Fleming, policy & public affairs lead for Scotland at the CIOB shares refreshed insights from the social housing sector one year on from an original research report. Last year I had the opportunity to work with housing association representatives to identify challenges they face in the

Paul McDevitt outlines the attributes of an effective leader. An effective leader possesses a combination of skills, qualities, and behaviours that enable them to guide and inspire their team towards a common purpose. 

Councillor James Dalgleish, planning convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, writes about a bold and ambitious plan agreed last week by councillors to make better use of land in the capital. Edinburgh’s population is growing fast and so a major highlight of City Plan 2030 is setting aside e

Muir Group executive chairman John Muir argues that the recent cut to interest rates is a welcome boost for Scotland's housebuilders. It is no surprise that the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates will have been welcomed by homebuilders up and down the country. With it comes more

Thomas & Adamson's Greig Fenton highlights the critical role of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) in the journey towards net zero for housing stock. The journey to net zero can seem a large, ominous, and expensive undertaking for housing providers. Some 2.9 million homes are owned by housin