Chef forced to stop letting flat due to Airbnb planning breach
A CHEF will be forced to stop letting out her luxury flat to short-term visitors after losing a battle with planners.
Katie Ogilvy-wedderburn, 35, used a website to rent her three-bedroom home in Edinburgh, which overlooks the castle, to up to six people at a time.
Tourists and business travellers were able to use the £400,000 flat while she worked in the Swiss Alps.
She insisted she had strictly controlled the flow of guests and had reduced the maximum number allowed to three.
But council bosses launched a probe before ordering her to stop using the property in the capital’s Grassmarket area for paying visitors.
City of Edinburgh Council said using Airbnb to allow people to stay breached planning laws and should be halted.
They added that letting of the flat had a “detrimental” impact on neighbours because of noise.
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.”
Miss Ogilvy-wedderburn appealed the council decision 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 shortterm residential letting.
“Therefore she believes there is no breach of planning control.”
But her appeal has now been thrown out by the government who upheld the council’s original decision to stop her letting out the property.
She has been given eight weeks to cease trading to allow bookings already made for the Christmas and New Year break to be fulfilled.
In a written ruling, government reporter Trudi Craggs said: “Due to the nature and location of the flatted development, the proximity and relationship between the individual flats within the block, in particular the shared access and communal stairs, and the fact that the property is on the top floor, I consider that the use of the property for short stay commercial visitor accommodation does constitute a material change of use which would require planning permission.
“Accordingly I conclude that a breach of planning control has taken place.”
One in 10 properties in Edinburgh city centre are on Airbnb, a recent report claimed.