Badenoch & Strathspey Short-Term Secondary Let Control Area Planning Policy Consultation
The Highland Council is pleased to announce the start of the consultation on draft planning policies to support the Badenoch and Strathspey Short-term Let Control Area proposal. This consultation will help inform the policies to be used if the Control Area is approved by the Scottish Ministers.
The policies have been developed to control short-term secondary letting across Ward 20 to help tackle the rural housing crisis and support rural communities.
The proposed policies can be viewed and commented upon on the Council webpage at www.highland.gov.uk/stlcontrolarea. All comments received will be considered and used to finalise the policy. Comments must be submitted in writing no later than 3rd February 2023. The consultation period has been extended from six weeks to 8 weeks to accommodate the festive period.
The Highland Council is currently only the second Local Authority in Scotland to be proposing the establishment of a Short-term Let Control Area, after Edinburgh Council commenced their Short-term Let Control Area in September 2022.
A Control Area is not a ban on Short Term Let and would not change the planning rules around certain type of accommodation. This consultation is also not related to the recent the Scottish Government announcement for all forms of Short-term Lets to be licensed by April 2024.
The Highland Council Convener and Chair of the Badenoch and Strathspey Committee, Councillor Bill Lobban said: “I believe that given the lack of available housing in Badenoch and Strathspey an effective STL Control Area will safeguard the character of the area, whilst creating more resilient local communities, where younger families could be based and employed locally.”
“We need to hear from the community so I really encourage individuals, community groups and businesses to take up this opportunity to let us know what they think on what is being proposed as their input will help to shape future policy.”
For further information, please visit www.highland.gov.uk/stlcontrolarea or contact the Highland Council, Development Plans Team on devplans@highland.gov.uk