Highland short-term let control zone plan approved

Short-term let control zone plan covers Badenoch and Strathspey

People who operate holiday lets in Badenoch and Strathspey will require planning permission, under new rules.

Highland Council has approved proposals to set up a control zone for Airbnb-style short-term lets in the region.

The new rules will come into force in March next year.

The plan is designed to help tackle the shortage of affordable housing in the area, but the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers has described the move as "wrongheaded".

Planning officials at Highland Council have acknowledged there was a risk of a legal challenge from the short-term let sector.

Earlier this month at the Court of Session, judge Lord Braid ruled against Edinburgh City Council's policy on short term lets describing it as "unfair and illogical".

Highland Council convener Bill Lobban described the housing market in Badenoch and Strathspey as being in "meltdown".

He said residents and workers moving to the area were unable to find affordable accommodation.

Mr Lobban said: "We need visitors as they are the mainstay of our economy, but we also need homes for the people who live and work in the area."

He added that the new short-term let control zone would not solve the problem overnight but said it was part of a mix of innovative solutions that needed to be considered.

Association of Scotland Self-Caterers chief executive Fiona Campbell welcomed the council's reconsidered position not to apply the policy retrospectively.

But she said targeting legitimate small businesses to address longstanding housing issues showed "a muddled sense of priorities".

She said: "Regulating these properties out of the market won’t lead to a flood of affordable homes in the area and anyone suggesting so is raising false hopes."