Amazing Spaces architect George Clarke: 'Scotland needs to build more houses'

Amazing Spaces architect George Clarke has told STV News that more houses must be built in Scotland.

The TV presenter was in Banchory over the weekend with housing lobby group Homes for Scotland.

He said that supply wasn’t keeping up with demand and increasing building would help bring down prices.

“We need to build more houses. That’s really, really important,” Mr Clarke said.

“There’s this massive demand – we’ve got a shortage of supply as well – and the only way that we’re going to make houses even more affordable is to provide more homes so that you get the supply and demand balance right.”

Mr Clarke’s comments come as councils across Scotland are struggling with ongoing housing issues.

More than a dozen local authorities – and the Scottish Parliament – have declared housing emergencies, and the issue continues to impact people’s lives.

Last year, the Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency.

Just weeks ago, Edinburgh Council agreed to suspend its housing policy in an “unprecedented” move to address a growing homelessness crisis.

Jane Wood, the chief executive of Homes for Scotland, told STV News that regulatory barriers had to be removed for builders to increase construction rates.

“We know that we’ve got a significant shortage [of housing],” Ms Wood said.

The environment for building homes – social, affordable, and private – continues to be “really challenging”, she said.

“I think the concerns are more about the intervention that we’re going to do to create immediate change for a better long-term future of home building,” she added.

The Homes for Scotland lobby group’s primary purpose is to “deliver more homes for Scotland”. It represents 200 member organisations and works with government at all levels and other relevant bodies to make the case for increasing housing supply – and the removal of barriers to achieve that.

Mr Clarke explained that building houses is complicated and difficult process that can take a long time.

“You’ve got to get the balance right between what we’ve built and the built environment and nature,” he said.