Category: Local Development Plan

Approval given to proceed with proposal to designate Edinburgh as Short-term Let Control Area

On Wednesday at Planning Committee, proposals were approved to designate the City of Edinburgh Council area as a short-term let (STL) control area.

The proposal follows a consultation with the public as well as industry bodies. 

The majority of respondents to the consultation were in favour of a control area, with 88% supporting the principle of it, and 85% supporting the entire City of Edinburgh Council area to be included.

A report of the consultation forms part of our Report to Planning Committee. 

The designation cannot come to effect without the approval of Scottish Government. A request will be submitted to the Scottish Government requesting that the new powers are implemented in the whole of the Edinburgh area.

If the government agree with this approach, and the new legislation is implemented in the city, it will require residential property owners wholly letting a property which is not their principle home as an STL in the local authority area, to apply for planning permission for a ‘change of use’ to a short-term let.

Short-term lets of private rooms or shared rooms where the property is the only or principal home of the host will not be affected by the control area requirement. This allows for house swaps at holidays and also for the host to let out the entire property when on holiday or working away, provided the property remains their only or principal home.

If approval is given by the Scottish Government, the designation will be publicised in advance of coming into effect. 

The introduction of powers to make a control area follows the Council calling for new legislation to tighten up the control of short-term lets to help manage high concentrations of secondary letting where it affects the availability of residential housing and character of a neighbourhood.

Also, it will help to restrict or prevent short-term lets in places or types of buildings where they are not appropriate as well as making sure homes are used to best effect.

Complementary to the control area legislation, the Scottish Parliament has approved legislation which will introduce a new licensing scheme requiring short-term lets to be licensed from July 2024.  It will address the issues of safety, anti-social behaviour and noise.

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Housing Land Audit and Completions Programme 2021

Map showing land supply in terms of effective and constrained sites.

Our annual Housing Land Audit and Completions Programme (HLACP) 2021 is now available to view in full on our website or as a layer on the Council Atlas.

The Programme is used to assess the supply of land for housing and the delivery of new homes within the City of Edinburgh Council area. It records the amount of land available for house building, identifies any constraints affecting development, and assesses the land supply in the area.

Sites included in the HLACP are housing sites under construction, sites with planning consent, sites in adopted or finalised Local Plans and, as appropriate, other buildings and land with agreed potential for housing development. The audit does not include new proposals from the proposed City Plan 2030.

As predicted last year, the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown during the second quarter of 2020 has resulted in the number of completions over the year to April 2021 being lower than recent years. Housebuilding activity is now back to the pre-pandemic level with expected completions over the next five years averaging 2,600 per year.

To view the data as a layer on the CEC Atlas, click ‘Planning’ and choose Housing Land Audit Schedules & Completions

The Programme demonstrates that there is more than enough unconstrained housing land to meet the remaining housing land requirement in full and that the five-year completions programme is above target.

This short video below gives an overview of the Programme:

For a housing site to be considered ‘effective’, it must be free of all constraints that would prevent development. Sites are considered against a range of criteria set out in Planning Advice Note 2/2010 “Affordable Housing and Housing Land Audits”. These include ownership, physical (e.g. slope, aspect, stability, flood risk, access), contamination, deficit funding, marketability, infrastructure and land use.

As at 31 March 2021, there was enough land free of planning constraints and available for development for 22,411 houses.

New Housing at Broomhills, Edinburgh

The effective land supply is varied in type, size and location. It is spread over a range of locations and includes brownfield (54%) and greenfield (46%) sites as shown on the above map.

The next annual Housing Land Audit and Completions Programme will be carried out in Spring 2022 and reported to Planning Committee in Autumn 2022.

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City Plan 2030: Consultation Closed

The 20th of December saw the end of the consultation period for submitting formal representations to the proposed City Plan 2030. 

The Council will now carefully consider the representations received.  Once the Council has completed its deliberations the proposed plan, along with its representations, will be submitted to Scottish Ministers for formal examination.  The indicative time scale for that stage of the plan process is set out in the approved Development Plan Scheme.  

You can find out further information about the City Plan 2030 here: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cityplan2030

Individual documents, including the plan’s written statement, can be viewed here: City Plan 2030 – background documents – The City of Edinburgh Council

You can keep up to date with the City Plan project by:

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City Plan 2030: Consultation Closing Soon

There is less than a week left to make representations on our Proposed Local Development Plan: City Plan 2030 which closes on 20th December 2021.

Representations can be in support of or object to any aspect of the proposed plan and should set out any changes you wish to see. Comments can also be made on the Environmental Report and background documents.

The consultation hub contains the plan in full and you can comment on each section in turn or simply navigate to the part you wish to comment on.

We have prepared a Quick Guide to City Plan 2030 This gives an overview of each section of the plan and what it contains plus more information on the plan and the process. We have also prepared a quick guide to assist you in submitting a representation on the consultation hub.

The proposed plan sets out locations for new homes and businesses, where new infrastructure and facilities are required and how we will protect places of value. It also includes policies which will be used to determine future planning applications and will shape the city over the next 10 years and beyond, while also developing our city for a net-zero future.

Find out more

Visit the City Plan 2030 webpage for details of online public briefing sessions or you can keep up to date with the City Plan project by:

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  • joining in the conversation by using the #CityPlan2030 hashtag

City Plan 2030 Update

The City Plan 2030 period for representations has been open for 2 weeks and there is still time to make your representations on the consultation hub before it ends on the 20th December.

The consultation hub contains the plan in full and you can comment on each section in turn or simply navigate to the part you wish to comment on. Our guide will help you navigate.

Our Quick Guide to City Plan 2030 gives an overview of each section of the plan and what it contains plus more information on the plan and the process.

You can also check out the interactive proposals map along with the accompanying Environmental Report and a range of background documents used to inform the plan.

Representations can be in support of, or object to any aspect of the proposed plan and should set out any changes you wish to see. Comments can also be made on the Environmental Report and background documents.

A series of online briefings sessions have been taking place and the following are still to come: 

24th November 5:30pm – 7pm (South West (west) Edinburgh)

Overview of City Plan 2030, key proposal sites and how to use the consultation hub.

25th November 4pm – 5:30pm

Overview of City Plan 2030, along with information on how the strategy and policies relate to existing business uses and economy policies.

2nd December 1pm – 3pm

Citywide session, focusing on policies, city centre and how to use the consultation hub.

Click here for further details of events

Should you wish to attend we would be grateful if you could advise of attendance by e-mail to  cityplan2030@edinburgh.gov.uk

Find out more

You can keep up to date with the City Plan project by:

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  • following us on twitter at @planningedin
  • joining in the conversation by using the #CityPlan2030 hashtag