Industry News: ASSC calls on Argyll and Bute Council to “think again” on unevidenced short-term let control area plans

Leading trade body raises serious concerns over short-term let curbs and also comments on possible visitor levy.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has called on Argyll and Bute Council to carefully scrutinise proposals for a short-term let planning control area covering significant parts of the region, warning that the measures lack an evidence base and could cause lasting damage to the area’s tourism-related economy.
The control area proposals would cover Mull and Iona, Coll and Tiree, Islay, Jura and Colonsay, as well as Lorn and the Inner Isles. The Council will also consider plans for a visitor levy. The ASSC has submitted a detailed briefing to councillors ahead of next week’s meeting (24th June), raising a series of questions about the robustness of the evidence underpinning both proposals.

The briefing asks whether planning control areas have delivered measurable housing benefits elsewhere in Scotland, and whether such a mechanism is capable of addressing the root causes of Argyll and Bute’s housing pressures. It also questions the wisdom of progressing a visitor levy ahead of revised national guidance and before meaningful implementation evidence exists.

The ASSC has been careful to acknowledge the genuine housing challenges facing Argyll and Bute and the Council’s legitimate interest in sustainable visitor infrastructure funding, but argues that the economic implications of the proposals have not been fully assessed. This includes the cumulative impact of multiple interventions arriving simultaneously.

The ASSC further highlights a concern about how the debate around ‘short-term lets’ is being framed, noting that the term is routinely used as though it describes a single, homogeneous category when it in fact encompasses a wide range of accommodation models. Treating established self-catering businesses in the same bracket as other forms of short-term letting risks policy responses that are poorly targeted and disproportionate in their impact.

Fiona Campbell MBE, Chief Executive of the ASSC, commented: “Contrary to assertions made, this not the balanced approach promised to the visitor economy but the same old scapegoating. There’s a complete evidence vacuum on the effectiveness of existing short-term let control areas in Scotland, yet Argyll and Bute Council want to impose this policy when there’s zero data showing it works to deliver measurable improvement in housing availability or affordability.

We are not here to dismiss the real and complex housing challenges facing the region, but the evidence that planning control areas can resolve these simply does not exist, and the Council risks significant costs on local businesses and visitors alike on the basis of an untested assumption. The Council should think again and go back to the drawing board, instead focusing on addressing the real causes of housing challenges.”