The CEO of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, Fiona Campbell, has been leading the charge against the disastrous impact of short-term lets licensing north of the border.
And during this week’s #HCHPodcast, Fiona bluntly outlined her opinion of the legislation – which has put numerous self-caterers out of business and negatively impacted tourism across the country.
When asked about the impact of licensing, Fiona said: “It has been shambolic and incredibly stressful. Small businesses, including the very smallest B&B to the very largest self-caterer, have found this incredibly challenging. It’s been hellish – and it continues to be hellish. What we’re seeing is people being closed down because of planning, particularly in Edinburgh, where 98% of planning permission applications are being rejected.”
Fiona said Scottish legislators were unsure about the reasons for introducing the licensing scheme, had relied on incomplete data, and failed to consult with people and businesses who would be directly impacted.
Fiona added: “The question is: what is this doing to the Scottish economy? Is there a material benefit to housing? Have people benefitted from an increase in health and safety? Has there been a drop in anti-social behaviour? Or has this been a complete waste of time? These are the KPIs I really want to understand. Has this been a success for the Scottish government or are more people on the dole?
“We've got villages all around Scotland that no longer have a B&B, no longer have any self-catering. What does that do to the village pub, for example? You look at the macro impact and then the micro impact. It’s high time the Scottish government did a proper review of what the impact has been.”
With the political landscape changing markedly after the general election, Fiona is hopeful policymakers will eventually see the benefits of the holiday let sector – on people, communities, and the economy.
She said: “I have my slight concerns about the new government coming in because they’ve got an interesting view of the holiday let sector. Having said that, the Labour Party has some very progressive views and is actually doing a remarkably positive and constructive job with short-term lets. They understand the huge benefit we provide to the economy. How this plays out will be really interesting – but I’m not sure which direction it’s going in.”
When asked what she would say to Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and First Minister, John Swinney, Fiona said: “The one thing we need to remind our policymakers about is who we are and what we provide, and the benefits we provide – not only to people’s lives in terms of offering them the most amazing holidays and memories – but also to the economy. We provide millions and millions and millions of pounds to the UK economy and I think it is really important we remind people of that.”
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