Airbnb ban served up to chef as city tackles short lets

A CHEF has been ordered to stop letting out her flat due to the ‘detrimental’ effect of shortterm visitors on her neighbours.

Katie Ogilvy-Wedderburn, 35, used a website to rent her threebedroom home in Edinburgh to up to six people at a time.

Tourists and business travellers can use the £400,000 flat while she is working overseas, in the Swiss Alps.

Miss Ogil v y - Wedderburn insisted she had strictly controlled the flow of guests and had reduced the maximum number allowed to three.

But council bosses launched an investigation before ordering her to stop using the top-floor property, in the capital’s Grassmarket area, for paying visitors.

City of Edinburgh Council said using Airbnb to allow people to

‘Detrimental to local amenity’

stay breached planning rules and should be halted.

In a letter, it said: ‘This regular turnover of visitors, combined with guests having access to communal areas including a shared landing and staircase, is detrimental to neighbouring residential amenity.

‘ The i mpact on residential amenity as a result of visitor turnover is accentuated through the large number of people the unit can accommodate.’

Miss Ogilvy-Wedderburn has now appealed to the Scottish Government.

A letter lodged on her behalf states: ‘No physical alterations requiring planning permission have been made or are proposed to be made to the property to facilitate its use for short term residential letting.

‘Therefore she believes there is no breach of planning control.’

A reporter will issue a decision in due course.

One in ten properties in Edinburgh city centre are on Airbnb, a recent report claimed.