Family sleep in campervan to 'escape' holiday let

View of Blackpool Tower and the Tower buildings on the Promenade on a sunny day Image source, Blackpool Council
Image caption,

StayBlackpool is urging Blackpool Council to restrict short-term lets to the traditional holiday areas of the town

  • Published

A family has said they have been forced to sleep overnight in a camper van and book into hotels to escape rowdy holidaymakers staying in a resort short-term let.

The family, which has asked not to be identified due to fear of retaliation, said their lives had been made a misery since the next door property was converted to a holiday let on sites such as Airbnb.

They said at weekends, the semi-detached house in a residential area of Bispham was a magnet for late-night parties with guests described as shouting into the early hours of the morning and using drugs such as cannabis.

The resident said: "We've repeatedly had to leave our own home just to get a proper night's sleep."

They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "On multiple occasions, we've been forced to sleep elsewhere."

They added the property had become "a hotspot of loud parties, late-night shouting and frequent cannabis use in the garden" with the owner refusing to tackle the situation.

Ian White, from hoteliers group StayBlackpool, said the issue of Airbnbs and other short-term holiday lets in residential areas was impacting residents across the town and wanted the council to crack down on the spread of short-term lets so it was restricted to the traditional holiday areas of the town.

He said in the Bispham case, the family had "suffered significantly due to the neighbouring property, and often had to go away at weekends to avoid their life being turned upside down".

Mr White urged the council to use its planning powers to prevent "more residents being let down" at a meeting on Wednesday.

Council leader Councillor Lynn Williams said the council's planning enforcement team was taking action and there were currently about 40 enforcement cases on its complaints register relating to Airbnbs, adding the authority responded to all formal complaints.

Airbnb said parties and any disruptive behaviours were banned and it also had a 24/7 hotline for neighbours to report any problems.

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