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Public to be consulted on new Highland short-term let control zones

Cameron Angus-Mackay,BBC Scotland Newsand
Eileen Macdonald,BBC Naidheachdan
News imageBBC Nine people are standing in a row outside the glass fronted entrance to Highland Council's headquarters in Inverness. The people are holding up signs and banners.BBC
Tenants' union Living Rent held a demonstration in Inverness calling for great use of short-term control zones

Highland councillors have given the go-ahead for public consultations to be held on plans for two new short-term let control zones.

One has been proposed for Inverness and the other would cover large parts of the region including Strathpeffer, Sutherland, Wester Ross, Lochaber, Skye and Raasay.

If the zones went ahead, planning permission would be needed for any new Airbnb-style holiday accommodation.

National tenants' union Living Rent wants all parts of the Highlands to have the controls to help increase the availability of housing, but the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers opposes the zones.

Living Rent held a demonstration outside Highland Council's headquarters in Inverness while councillors met inside to consider the plans.

A report to Thursday's economy and infrastructure committee said the two different zones would reflect variations between urban and rural locations.

According to the report, the proposed areas have higher proportions of potential homes being used as licensed short-term lets.

Officials said there were fewer affordable properties than other parts of the region.

In Inverness city centre, more than 15% of potential homes are short-term lets while the figure is more than 27% in the Fort Augustus and Invermoriston areas.

The committee agreed public consultations should go-ahead, and an amendment from Lochaber Lib Dem councillor Andrew Baxter that area committees take into account the feedback and evidence from the consultation.

Chrissie Gillies, a councillor for Eilean a' Cheò, told BBC Naidheachdan: "Underneath all of the discussions around short-term let control areas is the need for houses.

"We desperately need houses."

She added: "70% of people living and working in Skye and Raasay cannot afford the houses, even at the lower end of the market."

News imageGetty Images We can see an aerial shot of Inverness. The River Ness runs through the middle of the image with buildings on either side. There are hills in the distance. The sky is blue.Getty Images
Inverness could be covered by one of two proposed short-term let control areas

Highland Council has already set up a control zone in Badenoch and Strathspey and is considering rolling them out in several other areas.

Campaigners from tenants' union Living Rent have criticised the current proposal, calling for all local area committees to introduce restrictions.

The organisation claims the absence of control zones has allowed a "free for all" across the Highlands, creating a "scarcity of available housing".

The Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers said it would be a mistake to extend the policy elsewhere until there was clear and unambiguous evidence that it was working.

Chief executive Fiona Campbell warned there was a danger of unintended consequences.

She said: "This plan scapegoats responsible local businesses while doing nothing to address the real issues underlying housing challenges: be it second homes, the increasing number of economically inactive empty properties and lack of housing supply."