Are short-term lets a Fringe benefit? - your views online

Organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have warned a long-awaited crackdown on properties being used for short-term lets in the city is an “urgent” threat to the future of the event.

Bill McEwan

They want to inhibit holiday lets in the centre so they can be turned back into purely residential properties. Hardly anyone can afford them on a residential basis so the idea is flawed in two ways. First, it won't achieve what it's designed to. Second, it will impact on the city’s tourist numbers.

Simon Usher

For some people, self-catering options are much preferable rather than having to stay in a cramped hotel room. Unfortunately there's now a general presumption against holiday lets in cities (especially in Edinburgh), and applications for the new licences are widely being rejected by councils. This revised balance will have a detrimental effect on tourism, which is clearly an important income driver for Scotland.

Iain Thomson

What is a city without a community? These daily lets ruin the areas for people who have stayed there for generations and now its a constant churn of drunk partygoers who care not one jot for the locals who have to go to work in the morning. Having this 365 days of the year must be horrendous.

Paul Burgess

The rental mob and their greed are pricing locals out of the city. Controls are long overdue.

Ewan James

Nicola Sturgeon is killing Edinburgh. Whilst I don't fully agree with Airbnb, the lack of holiday accommodation this will create will be a big financial loss to Scotland.

Martin Allan

They’ll be more at risk from muggers and pickpockets as the SNP/ Green Government is cutting police numbers.

Killer outfit

Netflix’s Monster – The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has inspired many to make costumes of the serial killer for Halloween but it is being condemned for glorifying real crimes – and now eBay has banned sales of Dahmer outfits.

Scott Dyer

I suppose I would take offence if someone dressed up as, for instance Sxcottish murderers Thomas Hamilton or Robert Black – this would be very disrespectful to the families of the victims, so I can entirely see the point of withdrawing the costumes.

Moira Harris

No-one bothers dress up like Jason or Freddy and he was a child killer in the movies so what's the difference?

Claire Isabel Smith

Jason and Freddy didn’t kill real people with real families who are still suffering to this day because of their actions. Big difference.

Keir Liddle

When the show itself has been criticised by the family members of victims I think that sends the message that dressing as Dahmer is at least in very poor taste. Fictional or historical serial killers, where there is no-one who will be reminded of the trauma of their love one being murdered, by someone who thinks it’s funny to dress as them – that seems fine.

Steve Dunleavy

It’s in very poor taste and Nettflix has made an absolute fortune from the Dahmer series. It’s wrong to glorify these serial killers and people shouldn’t be profiting from their crimes with these costumes.

Jingle bells

Edinburgh’s annual Christmas Festival could be brought into public ownership following the collapse of the contract for this year’s event when the private operator due to produce it pulled out.

Gary Gray

Public ownership? When has any council ever run anything effectively?

Stuart Young

Maybe let someone who runs markets in Scotland deal with it and have people and businesses that are based in Edinburgh sell stuff at it.

Elaine Addy

It's like an overpriced cattle market with everyone pushing – not very fun when your kid is being crushed and no-one has any manners. It needs to be better managed, that’s for sure.

Karen Willey

Stop all over-priced tat and food so people can afford to pay and buy things – you’ll find that you generate more money in the long run. Plus, stop it been squeezed in one little place that's not big enough.

Warren Burrows

No. If the council refuse to fund core services to a level they are legally obliged to, then by law they cannot fund non-core services and that is from the Scottish Government – and I quote “having first fulfilled their statutory obligations”.

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