​STL exodus could spell the end for golden egg-laying tourism goose - John McLellan

​If there was doubt about the Scottish Government’s intention to smash the short-term let market, it has been swept away by its rejection of retrospective planning applications for two Holyrood Park lodges.

Duddingston lodge was part of Prince Albert’s 19th Century landscaping plans

​The owner was not some devil-may-care, absentee landlord but Scottish Government ministers themselves, through the Historic Environment Scotland agency which manages the park. And the buildings were not any old houses, but “properties in care” which it looks after on behalf of those ministers.

As such, Meadowbank and Duddingston lodges are part of a national collection including castles and monuments which, according to HES, “define significant aspects of Scotland’s history, brought into care for their long-term preservation and public benefit … for the benefit of people living in and visiting Scotland”.

But no longer, it seems, for the benefit of visitors. The lodges had apparently lain empty for five years before being converted to holiday lets, and one has been in operation without difficulty for three years, generating much-needed income for HES. But still the applications were thrown out.

The rejection was because the loss of residential property was “not outweighed by economic benefits”, but an HES spokesperson was clear there was no residential alternative because of their status.

The economic benefit of property blight is a mystery because the rationale behind the decision effectively saddles HES with properties for which it will be hard to find a use, from which it can derive no income, but will still be required to maintain. They are officially designated historic millstones. And if HES can’t have permission granted in this context, it’s extremely hard to see how any application can succeed in Edinburgh.

Now the Scottish Government seems fully aligned with the City Council in blocking applications, no matter the circumstances, the chances of applicants refused by the council mounting successful appeals to the Scottish Government’s planning reporters are now virtually zero.

A recent retrospective application in Morningside, rejected by the council despite two years of operation without complaint and no objections, was going to be appealed, but the owners now might as well save themselves the expense and anticipation.

They, and every other SLT owner seeking planning consent, now face the choice of selling up, seeking long-term residential tenants, or finding other uses. Watch out for a rush on pool tables and dart boards. How the tourism economy copes with what is effectively the death-knell of the short-term let market is anyone’s guess, but as demand won’t disappear, especially in August, an underground market is likely to be the result, especially as there is no effective plan for policing.

It could, of course, increase the attractiveness for hotel developments, which are as popular with local people as student flats, but the number of suitable sites, apart from near the airport, is drying up. The CoStar commercial property information company last year estimated there were around 1,000 new hotel rooms in the pipeline, but demand was already high and the Horwath hotels and leisure consultancy observed “there are no significant concerns of longer-term oversupply”.

In other words, it was expected the rooms would be full before anyone foresaw a forced exodus from the STL market. Higher demand only means higher prices. With arts funding being slashed, Edinburgh’s golden egg-laying tourism goose could be heading for the poulterers if there isn’t a re-think.