South Scotland to Convert Empty Buildings into Homes

South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH) and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) have launched a joint project to increase community housing in the south of Scotland through the conversion of empty residential, retail and industrial buildings.

With a focus on the Scottish Borders, the project marks a geographic expansion into the wider south Scotland region for SOSCH, which has won awards for its community-led conversion projects in Dumfries and Galloway. Recent projects have included the development of a former police station, a hotel, and high street units into housing for local community members.

The two-year project between SOSCH and SEHP is centered around the hiring of a new empty homes coordinator who will identify and drive new community-led conversions of empty buildings in southeast Scotland. Candidates are currently being considered and SOSCH hopes that the recruit will commence their role in late September or early October.

Projects completed with the support of SOSCH in Dumfries and Galloway have included the conversion of a hotel that had been empty for 30 years into community-led homes, the restoration of a former police station into 4 homes, the revamp of a former bank into housing, and the conversion of spaces above empty high street retail units into housing.

In April 2022, SOSCH and community organization The Eskdale Foundation won the “Best Old Wreck” conversion category at the Scottish Empty Homes Awards for their restoration of the former Police Station in Langholm.

Typical reasons for homes becoming empty for several years include the death of an owner, inherited properties where the new owners are unsure of what to do, property owners not being able to afford restorations to make the home habitable, and owners in care which lead to the property deteriorating.

Scottish Borders Council hired its first empty homes officer in 2021. They are helping to bring long-term empty properties back into use as well as developing a match-maker service to connect owners of empty homes with investors and utilizing data and information to tackle empty homes more strategically.