The dual requirement of planning and licensing policies for the self-catering sector is oppressive and disproportionate. It is irrational to apply national policies regulating the same activity in inconsistent ways across local authority areas. Moreover, it imposes unnecessary hardship to require operators to subject themselves to parallel processes for materially identical purposes and to pay repeat fees.
Meanwhile, uncertainty and ambiguity over the planning process are causing distractions from implementing Short-Term Let Licensing schemes. Clarity must be provided going forward, rather than applying planning policy changes retrospectively to those businesses that have already made significant financial investment and operated for some considerable time, in some cases for decades, without issue.
We do hope that the Scottish Government will now meaningfully consider our recommendations, alongside solutions already provided to ameliorate the unintended consequences identified following implementation of the Short-Term Let Licensing scheme (attached).
We welcome the New Deal for Business and look forward to working together with the Scottish Government to get short-term let regulations back on track.