RURAL AFFAIRS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

RURAL HOUSING INQUIRY

SUBMISSION FROM COUNCIL

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: RURAL HOUSING ENQUIRY

As requested in your letter dated 17 January 2007, I am providing you with information on rural parts of the Scottish Borders area. Much of this information comes from the Council’s 2006 Housing Needs Assessment, which can be viewed in full at:

www.scotborders.gov.uk//council/departmentsandservices/socialwork/housing strategy/21470.html

We are aware that we lack greater information on homelessness in rural areas, and are requesting that we address this issue with our I.T. data supplier in order that we are able to access information on the level of homelessness in each settlement in the Scottish Borders.

Population Table 1 shows the population of the main settlements in the Scottish Borders. Generally Scottish rural is defined as a settlement with a population less than 3,000, this means that , , , , Kelso, and Selkirk are not classed as rural and for this reason will not be included in this analysis. Table 1 also shows / Cardrona and Melrose//Newstead have a population over 3,000 but these will be included in the rural analysis as they have been grouped, individually they have a population less than 3,000. Duns will also be used in the rural analysis as there a many smaller settlements just outside Duns which have been included in table 1.

Table 1: Household Size by Area Average Total Total Area household households population size Duns 2,730 5,967 2.19 1,020 2,322 2.28 Eyemouth 2,234 4,842 2.17 Galashiels 7,422 15,273 2.06 Hawick 8,571 16,721 1.95 Innerleithen/ Cardrona 1,546 3,264 2.11 Jedburgh 2,620 5,467 2.09 Kelso 4,677 10,128 2.17 882 1,968 2.23 Melrose/Darnick/ 1,957 4,227 2.16 Newtown 579 1,168 2.02 Peebles 4,524 10,512 2.32 Selkirk 3,334 7,414 2.22 St Boswells 468 864 1.84 West Linton 1,056 2,670 2.53 Other Rural 9,476 21,828 2.3 Total 53,097 114,636 2.16 Source: Housing Assessment survey 2006

The total number of rural settlements (excluding those from table 1) in the Scottish Borders is 43, as shown in Table 2. Due to rurality of some of these areas the 2001 Census is the most reliable source for populations.

Table 2: Population of smaller settlements in the Scottish Borders Romanno 1,846 Gattonside 381 Bridge 175 1,716 Eddleston 335 161 1,204 Reston 335 140 Newcastleton 784 Broughton 306 139 Bonchester 676 Oxton 270 Bridge 135 Denholm 608 Morebattle 266 Heiton 133 607 246 Skirling 127 Yetholm 606 Swinton 224 126 Stow 596 Bowden 223 Preston 115 586 220 Ashkirk 107

Ayton 557 201 Blyth Bridge 107 Clovenfords 421 Paxton 195 Foulden 106

Gordon 415 185 Fountainhall 101 412 Lanton 100 Ancrum 392 100 Source: 2001 Census

Tenure Table 3 shows the tenure profile of rural households in the Scottish Borders by settlement. It clearly shows that the owner occupied sector is the highest tenure followed by social rented and by the private rented sector. West Linton, the Melrose area and other rural settlements have the highest percentage of owner occupiers and the lowest percentage of social rented housing. St Boswells and have the lowest percentage of owner occupiers and the highest percentage of social rented housing.

Table 3: Settlement by Tenure (%) Tenure Social rented Owner Private (incl. shared Settlement occupied rented ownership) Other Total Duns 60.9 10.4 25.4 3.3 100 Earlston 70.6 4.8 23.0 1.7 100 Innerleithen/ Cardrona 65.2 2.2 32.2 0.4 100 Lauder 69.7 5 23.5 1.7 100 Melrose/ Darnick/ Newstead 78.3 7.6 11.8 2.4 100 Newtown St Boswells 55.3 3.4 41.3 0.0 100 St Boswells 49.5 0.9 48.8 0.9 100 West Linton 78.0 5.5 14.2 2.3 100 Other Rural 79.9 6.1 12.8 1.3 100 Total 67.4 6.2 24.7 1.7 100 Source: Housing Assessment survey 2006

Table 4 breaks down the tenure profile by Housing Market Area (HMA), there are seven HMAs in the Scottish Borders, below is a list of the HMAs and the main settlements:

Berwickshire – Eyemouth, Duns, Coldstream, Chirnside Central – Galashiels, Selkirk, Melrose, Tweedbank, Newtown St Boswells, St Boswells North Ettrick & – Lauder, Stow North – West Linton, Eddleston South – Hawick South Tweeddale – Innerleithen, Peebles, Walkerburn

Included in the table are , North Ettrick and North Tweeddale as these areas are made up predominantly of rural settlements. Table 4 clearly shows that North Tweeddale and North Ettrick have high percentages of owner occupiers, and lower levels of social rented housing.

Table 4: HMA by tenure (%) Tenure Social rented HMA Total Owner Private (incl. shared occupied rented ownership) Other Berwickshire 67.4 6.9 24.0 1.7 100 North Ettrick 75.8 6.3 14.5 3.4 100 North Tweeddale 78.0 8.4 10.6 2.9 100 Total 67.4 6.2 24.7 1.7 100 Source: Housing Assessment survey 2006

Second Homes

Table 5 and Figure 1 shows the number of second homes in the Scottish Borders by postcode district. For analysis only rural postcode districts have been used. TD11 (Duns, Chirnside and Swinton) has the highest number of second homes (94). The TD6 area (Melrose, Newtown St Boswells and St Boswells) also had high levels of second homes (85). The lowest numbers of second homes are in TD3 (), TD4 (Earlston) and EH38 (Heriot).

Table 5: Number of Second Homes in Rural Postcode District Postcode Settlement Second District Homes EH38 Heriot 5 EH43 Walkerburn 16 EH44 Innerleithen, Cardrona 42 EH46 West Linton 15 ML12 Skirling 21 TD2 Lauder, Oxton 15 TD3 Gordon 9 TD4 Earlston 9 Melrose, Newtown St Boswells, St TD6 Boswells 85 TD10 Greenlaw 14 TD11 Duns, Chirnside, Swinton 94 TD12 Coldstream, Leitholm 40 TD13 Cockburnspath 14 TD15 Foulden, Paxton, Hutton 25 Total 404 Source: Council Tax Data (as of Jan 2008)

Figure 1: Number of Second Homes in Rural Postcode District (as of Jan 2008) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 EH38 EH43 EH44 EH46 ML12 TD2 TD3 TD4 TD6 TD10 TD11 TD12 TD13 TD15

Source: Council Tax Data

Long Term Empty Properties

Table 6 and Figure 2 shows the number of long term empty properties in the Scottish Borders by postcode district. A property is defined as being long term empty if it has been empty for six months or longer. As with holiday homes the larger number of empty homes are in TD11 and TD6. The areas with the lowest number of empty homes are in EH26 (Carlops), EH38 TD3, TD4 and TD10 (Greenlaw), with the highest number in the Duns, Chirnside and Swinton area Melrose, Newtown St. Boswells and St Boswells area. Figure 2, below shows that the highest levels of long term empty properties are mainly in the larger of Hawick and Galashiels – although as there are more houses in these larger towns it is unsurprising that there will be larger proportions of empty properties in these areas.

Table 6: Number of Long Term Empty Properties in Rural Postcode District Postcode Settlement Long Term District Empty EH26 Carlops 1 EH38 Heriot 1 EH43 Walkerburn 15 EH44 Innerleithen, Cardrona 22 EH46 West Linton 11 ML12 Skirling 10 TD2 Lauder, Oxton 16 TD3 Gordon 7 TD4 Earlston 9 Melrose, Newtown St Boswells, St TD6 Boswells 44 TD10 Greenlaw 5 TD11 Duns, Chirnside, Swinton 60 TD12 Coldstream, Leitholm 19 TD13 Cockburnspath 11 TD15 Foulden, Paxton, Hutton 15 Total 246 Source: Council Tax Data (as of Jan 2008)

Figure 2: Number of Long Term Empty Properties in Rural Postcode District (as of Jan 2008)

Source: Council Tax Data Dwelling Type Table 7: Dwelling type by settlement (%) Type of Dwelling Settlement Semi- Flat/ Mobile/ Total Detached Terraced detached maisonette temporary Duns 27.6 33.3 24.9 13.8 0.3 100 Earlston 26.8 31.3 29.5 12.4 0.0 100 Innerleithen/ Cardrona 25.9 14.0 26.6 33.6 0.0 100 Lauder 40.2 35.9 18.8 5.1 0.0 100 Melrose/ Darnick/ Newstead 39.9 32.8 11.3 16.0 0.0 100 Newtown St Boswells 5.3 53.0 36.4 5.3 0.0 100 St Boswells 15.4 31.5 36.2 16.1 0.9 100 West Linton 52.6 13.5 25.9 7.8 0.3 100 Other Rural 44.7 28.1 21.9 5.1 0.2 100 Total 28.3 24.1 23.2 24.2 0.1 100 Source: Housing Assessment survey 2006

Table 7 shows the different house types in the rural Scottish Borders. The type of housing is varied throughout the Scottish Borders. Detached properties are most common in West Linton (52.6%), Other Rural (44.7%), and Lauder (40.2%). Semi-detached properties are most common in Duns (33.3%), Earlston (31.3%) and Newtown St Boswells (53%). Terraced properties are most common in Newtown St. Boswells (36.4%) and St. Boswells (36.2%). Flats and maisonettes are most common in the Innerleithen/ Cardona area with (33.6%).

Table 8 shows the percentage of house types by Housing Market Area. In Berwickshire there is a higher percentage of detached properties (35.1%) followed by semi-detached (29.6%) then terraced (8.8%), this trend is also seen in North Ettrick and North Tweeddale. This trend is to be expected as flats are not as common in rural areas as in larger settlements.

Table 8: Dwelling type by HMA (%) Type of Dwelling Semi- Flat/ Mobile/ Total Detached Terraced detached maisonette temporary Berwickshire 35.1 29.6 26.3 8.8 0.2 100 North Ettrick & Lauderdale 47.6 30.2 16.5 5.8 0.0 100 North Tweeddale 56.4 14.7 22.2 6.6 0.2 100 Total 28.3 24.1 23.2 24.3 0.1 100 Source: Housing Assessment survey 2006

Housing Need

The Housing Needs Assessment recorded respondents who were living in housing that did not meet their needs, shown in Table 9. Overall, 9.9% of households in the Scottish Borders felt they were living in “unsuitable housing”. A low proportion of households in St. Boswells and the Melrose area felt they were unsuitably housed (5.4% and 6.1%, respectively). On the other hand, 13.2% of households in Lauder felt they were unsuitably housed, with high levels of also found in West Linton and Newtown St. Boswells.

Table 9: Percentage unsuitably housed by area Area % unsuitably housed Duns 7.8 Earlston 8.6 Innerleithen/Cardrona 9.6 Lauder 13.2 Melrose/Darnick/Newstead 6.1 Newtown St Boswells 12.0 St Boswells 5.4 West Linton 12.5 Other Rural 9.4 Scottish Borders 9.9 Source: Housing Assessment survey

Table 10, below shows the level of overcrowding recorded in each rural settlement. There are higher than average levels of overcrowding (by the definition Over occupation 1) in Earlston (14.9%), Lauder (14.3%) and the Melrose area (14.2%). More serious levels of overcrowding was evident in Newtown St. Boswells (7.6%).

Table 10: Over/under-occupation by area Over Over occupation 2 (%) Area occupation 1 (%) Earlston 14.9 4.2 Innerleithen/Cardrona 13 5.1 Lauder 14.3 3 Melrose/Darnick/Newstead 14.2 0.7 Newtown St Boswells 5.2 7.6 St Boswells 7.6 0.9 West Linton 12.6 4.8 Other Rural 12.6 3.8 Scottish Borders 12.5 3.9 Source: Housing Assessment survey

Over-occupation 1: the number of people in the household exceeds the number of bedrooms by one (this does not take account of sharing by couples or siblings) Over-occupation 2: the number of people in the household exceeds the number of bedrooms by two or more (this takes account of sharing by couples or siblings)

Table 11: Apportioned affordable housing requirement by Housing Market Area Household Sub-area distribution Mean Berwickshire 17.7 53 17 51 North Ettrick & Lauderdale 2.4 7 2.3 7 North Tweeddale 2.7 8 2.2 7 Scottish Borders 100 301 100 301 Source: Housing Assessment survey

Table 11, shows the requirement for new additional affordable housing in each rural housing market area in the Scottish Borders. It shows that the level of housing need is fairly closely linked to the population in each area. Due to the relatively small population in North Ettrick and Lauderdale, North Tweeddale, only 7 units affordable housing units per annum are required, whilst Berwickshire has a larger requirement of 51 units. However, the more densely populated areas have a greater level of housing need, such as in Central Borders (with a requirement of 102 affordable housing units per annum).

Table 12, below shows the average house price in each postcode sector, and also what the average household income is in each area. Multiplying the average income by 3 gives a rough calculation of the mortgage the average household can afford – this is the estimated ‘affordable housing cost’. In most areas, the average house price is higher than the average ‘affordable housing cost’. In some rural areas, such as Carlops and West Linton, there is a big gap between the affordable housing cost, and the average house price is far more expensive for the average household income could afford to pay for a mortgage.

Table 12: Affordability in Rural Areas by Postcode Sector Number of Median Median Estimated Post Sales House household Affordable code Price # income Housing Cost area TD1 Galashiels 402 £96,500 £26,300 £78,900 TD2 Oxton/Lauder 88 £200,475 £29,900 £89,700 TD3 Gordon/ 9 £100,000 £29,100 £87,300 TD4 Earlston 49 £145,000 £26,700 £80,100 Smailholm/Kelso/ Ednam/Eccles/ TD5 Stichill/Hume 272 £140,625 £25,850 £77,550 Newtown/St TD6 Boswells/Melrose 244 £155,000 £30,650 £91,950 TD7 Selkirk 154 £96,250 £26,400 £79,200 TD8 Ancrum/Jedburgh 136 £110,000 £28,000 £84,000 Hawick/Newcastlet TD9 on 436 £71,000 £25,100 £75,300 TD10 Greenlaw 15 £131,900 £23,100 £69,300 TD11 Duns/Chirnside 145 £145,500 £25,350 £76,050 TD12 Coldstream 59 £130,000 £25,500 £76,500 TD13 Cockburnspath 14 £165,750 £28,500 £85,500 TD14 Eyemouth 150 £149,975 £25,050 £75,150 TD15 Paxton/Lamberton 26 £206,250 £24,600 £73,800 EH26 Carlops 5 £287,500 £29,000 £87,000 EH46 West Linton 42 £275,000 £35,600 £106,800 EH43 Walkerburn 18 £81,814 £28,900 £86,700 EH44 Innerleithen 74 £120,000 £25,000 £75,000 EH45 Cardrona/Peebles 288 £171,287 £29,300 £87,900 ML12 Skirling/Broughton 17 £210,050 £31,000 £93,000

Homelessness Table 14, below shows homeless presentations to Scottish Borders Council. It shows that the number of households presenting as homeless increased by 36% between 2003/04 and 2006/07. Figure 3 shows the projections made by rural councils for future levels of homelessness, and it shows that as the number of priority need cases increases (as a result of the abolition of priority need) there will be an increased proportion of social rented lets required to accommodate homeless households. Figure 4 shows the location of temporary accommodation units in the Scottish Borders, which shows that most of them are based in the main settlements, rather than in smaller settlements.

Table 14: Households Presenting as Homeless 2003 - 2008 2006/ 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2007/08* 07 SB Sco SB Sco SB Sco SB SB All application 57,83 s 836 55,142 785 56,709 901 1138 706 1 assessed in period Source: Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Executive Housing Statistical Bulletin, *April – December 2007 only

Figure 3: Rural Councils Homeless Pro-Forma Projections

Figure 4: Location and Number of Temporary Accommodation Units in the Scottish Borders

Borders Council 14 February 2008