North Berwick: Holiday flat owner hits back at claims over guests

East Lothian Council planners refused to let the owner of the flat, off North Berwick High Street, change its use to a short-term holiday let because it shared a communal entrance with a ‘residential’ property.

However, in an appeal to the council’s local review body next month, the flat owner Harriet Miles claims that their neighbour’s home is a second property which is used as a holiday home by family and friends throughout the year.

In their appeal to the review body, the flat operator says: “The owner’s permanent address is elsewhere in Scotland. The owner sometimes spends several weeks at a time away from the property, during which time their property is either unoccupied or used by their family and friends.

“When they do come, like the guests to our property they have to bring their own luggage, shopping etc.”

'Incompatible'

The holiday flat owner, whose property is on Forth Street Lane, was refused permission to carry on operating it by planners who said that it was “incompatible with and harmful to the amenity of the occupants of the other flatted property used as a residential dwelling”.

Officers said that they had received four objections – two from the same person – to the change of use.

Since new legislation was introduced last year requiring short-term holiday lets to be licensed, the council has dealt with dozens of change-of-use applications and has been inclined to refuse permission for those sharing communal entrances and stairwells.

In this case, however, the flat operator says in their appeal that the fact the adjoining property is a second home should not have led to the refusal.

They said: “The use of both is not, for the reasons stated, dissimilar given the use of [the adjoining flat] is not a permanent/long-term residence but rather a second property/holiday home. Given this, it is not justified to refuse consent in this instance.”

The review body will meet to determine the appeal next month.