Owners of this Old Town flat want it to become AirBnB because so many close to it already are

The owners of an Old Town flat are using the existence of other short-term lets as justification for planning permission

A flat in Campbell's Close in the Old Town has applied for permission to operate as a short-term let.

The owners of a flat in a B-listed building in Edinburgh who want to run an Airbnb have argued the high number of short-term lets in the area should allow them to open their own holiday apartment.

Applying for permission to operate 6 Campbell’s Close in the Old Town as a short-term let, the owner, Barbara Stuart, used the existence of 18 different holiday lets in the vicinity of her flat as supporting evidence for her own application.

The Old Town has the highest density of Airbnbs and short-term lets in Scotland with more than 2,700 properties in the city centre of Edinburgh alone.

Critics of short-term lets say the explosion in their numbers has led to communities being hollowed out and replaced by a constantly changing sea of tourists.

Many applications for planning permission around short-term lets are refused by Edinburgh City Council on the basis of reducing what is known as ‘residential amenity’, or positive aspects of living in a particular place.

In the supporting statement, Ms Stuart states: “All of the flats adjoining the application property, which include the one below, and flats to the east and north on the same level, are marketed as holiday lets.

“Therefore, the change of use of 6 Campbell’s Close to a short term holiday let will not have detrimental impact on the residential amenity of residential neighbours.

“The only flats being used as residential on the south side of this building are nos. 8 and 12, neither of which directly adjoin the application property.

“Furthermore there is no record of the existing flats quoted above, and that are being used as holiday lets, as having generated any noise complaints, as their size (2 bedroom) constrains the number of occupants that they can house.

“It is therefore unlikely that the change of use of 6 Campbell’s Close would detrimentally impact the remaining residential units in the immediate area.”

In an objection to the plans, published by grassroots campaigners PLACEEdinburgh, the application is criticised for potentially leading to increased anti-social behaviour and noise, and a loss of community and security.

The group, which campaigns against the proliferation of short-term lets in the Capital, said: “Edinburgh has a housing crisis, and accessible housing crisis.

“The Strategic Housing Investment Plan states the rapid growth in short term lets is creating further pressure on supply, rent levels and house prices in some areas as properties are purchased for short term let rather than long term rent or owner occupation.

“The devastation of the neighbourhood by short-term lets is described in detail, in apparent support of this application. None have planning permission as far as we can tell. Short-term letting in this intimate neighbourhood affects the ability of the area to function as a ‘socially sustainable place’.”

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