Category: World Heritage

CONSULTATION CLOSING SOON: Share your views on the proposed changes to Guidance for Businesses – Short Term Lets

Row of Edinburgh tenements with trees in the foreground.

This Thursday (22 Dec) our consultation on the proposed changes to the Guidance for Businesses is closing. We want to hear your views on the proposed changes and specifically the expanded section on short term lets (STLs).

In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.

Edinburgh was the first council in Scotland to apply for a short-term control area, which has now been in place since 5 September 2022 and covers the whole of the Council’s area.

The amount of STL accommodation has grown significantly in the last ten years and Edinburgh is recognised as an area that has greater pressures than other parts of the country.

The current Guidance for Businesses has a section on short-term commercial visitor accommodation and we are proposing changes which were presented to the Planning Committee on 31 August 2022.

Planning applications for STLs be assessed against the Local Development Plan along with the updated guidance and any other relevant material considerations.

Your responses will shape the final version of the guidance which we aim to have in place in early 2023. 

Complete the online consultation here.

World Heritage Site – Draft Management Plan 2023

View of Old Town from the Crags looking North West with the Forth Bridges in the distance.

The Management Plan for the Old & New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site is being reviewed and we want to hear your views.

An updated Draft Management Plan is being prepared by the City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Environment Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage. It identifies issues and opportunities within the site and presents an action plan for implementation over a five-year period.

The issues identified include:

  • care and maintenance of buildings and streets
  • control and guidance and contribution of new development
  • awareness of World Heritage Site status
  • visitor management
  • influence and sense of control

This is your opportunity to tell us what matters to you and to help us to best address these issues. We want to hear your thoughts on how the World Heritage Site has been looked after, what works well and what we could be doing better. 

We specifically want to know whether you feel we are doing enough to protect and enhance the Site, and any other ideas or suggestions which you may have. 

Complete the consultation online by 12 December 2022.

Short Term Lets: Drop-in session on proposed changes to our Guidance for Businesses

Row of Edinburgh tenements with some trees in the foreground.

We will be holding a drop-in session on proposed changes to our Guidance for Businesses and specifically the expanded section on short term lets.

  • When:  1.00pm – 4.30pm on Wednesday 9 November
  • Where: Planning and Building Standards front counter area at Waverley Court (4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG)

Members of the planning team will be on hand to explain the proposed, answer any questions and get your feedback.

In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means if that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.

Edinburgh’s short-term let control area has now been in place since 5 September 2022.

Come along if you

  • live in an area where properties are let out for short breaks
  • offer flats or houses for holiday lets in Edinburgh
  • are an interested member of the public

Complete the online consultation here by 22 December 2022.

Proposed changes to Guidance for Businesses – Short Term Lets

View of Edinburgh tenements with trees in the foreground.

We want your views on the proposed changes to the Guidance for Businesses and specifically the expanded section on short term lets (STLs).

In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means if that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.

Edinburgh was the first council in Scotland to apply for a short-term control area, which has now been in place since 5 September 2022 and covers the whole of the Council’s area.

The amount of STL accommodation has grown significantly in the last ten years and Edinburgh is recognised as an area that has greater pressures than other parts of the country.

The current Guidance for Businesses has a section on short-term commercial visitor accommodation and we are proposing changes which were presented to the Planning Committee on 31 August 2022.

Planning applications for STLs be assessed against the Local Development Plan along with the updated guidance and any other relevant material considerations.

Your responses will shape the final version of the guidance which we aim to have in place in early 2023. 

Complete the online consultation here by 22 December 2022.

Updated Guidance for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas

Front Cover of Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas (October 2022). Nice view of row of townhouses in New Town.

We’ve updated our Non-Statutory Guidance for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas, with changes to the guidance on roof terraces, ensuite bathrooms and how listed building consent applications are assessed.

Windows

We also provide more detail in the guidance on windows in Listed Buildings and what is now called ‘narrow profile glazing’, previously known as ‘slim profile glazing’.

Where it is proposed to install narrow profile glazing in listed buildings, the guidance still advises that the 6mm cavity gap between two 4mm panes is the maximum we will usually accept. Larger cavity gaps may be accepted in certain circumstances and the guidance sets out what these would be.

Listed building consent applications for narrow profile glazing in existing windows must be accompanied by cross section drawings detailing the depth of the cavity gap and glazing panes. Without this information we are unable to assess the application and it will not be progressed. Full details are included in the guidance.

Our full range of non-statutory guidance is available at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planningguidelines