Cheered by Hogmanay plans but won’t be partying like it’s 1999 - Susan Dalgety

Torch bearers creating the 'Be Together' symbol in Holyrood Park, following the annual torchlight procession through Edinburgh

These days I am in my bed long before the bells ring in the New Year, but there was a time when I partied like it was 1999. So I am cheered by the news that Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations are to be extended this year.

I am less happy with the revelation that our capital’s world famous New Year celebrations are 30 years old. Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I, as a junior councillor, voted to support this annual celebration – against, it has to be said, some opposition from party-poopers. But right from the offset, the festivities, organised brilliantly by Unique Events, were a huge success.

The scale of this year’s event – with the return of the torchlight procession and an extra 10,000 places at the street party – is bound to attract even more visitors to our city, from the rest of the UK as well as abroad. This will be welcome news for our beleaguered hospitality industry, still recovering from the pandemic.

Let’s hope there is somewhere for these visitors to stay. Under a new government scheme, the owners of short-term rental properties, such as Airbnbs and more traditional B&Bs, only have until October 1 to submit an application for a licence to stay in business. The Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association has just warned that the new regulations could destroy the sector, with nearly two-thirds of B&B owners considering shutting up shop.

And a report to City of Edinburgh Council last week warned that the number of Airbnbs in the capital could drop by 80 per cent. At the beginning of August, only 245 licence applications had been submitted out of an estimated 12,000 short let properties.

A licensing scheme for short term lets to ensure proper health and safety is not a bad thing, as anyone who has stayed in a dodgy B&B can testify. But there is clearly something wrong with this new government scheme to have prompted such a negative response. If something is not done, and quickly, people will not only be dancing in the streets on December 31, they will be sleeping on them.