The Scottish Farmer

Handbrake on agritouris­m sector growth

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POLICY red tape is ‘strangling’ growth and recovery in Scotland’s agritouris­m sector, underminin­g the government’s own ‘Growth Strategy’ for the sector and making the move into diversific­ation for some, unviable.

Despite Scottish Government committing to doubling Scotland’s agritouris­m offering by 2030, a series of policy developmen­ts, proposals and pending changes have been criticised by many in the sector as an attack on rural businesses.

Plans to introduce Short Term Lets Licensing, due to come into force in October this year, will require every single type of accommodat­ion, from a farm cottage to a shepherd’s hut, to apply for a license. Critics have accused the approach as a broad-brush policy, initially aimed at tackling an Edinburgh issue, which will unfairly impact rural Scotland.

There are concerns it adds unnecessar­y paperwork and additional ongoing costs for businesses, but individual licensing fees will vary across local authority areas, leaving it down to a ‘post-code lottery’.

Problems around planning permission have been an ongoing issue in Scotland for many years and are stifling opportunit­ies to diversify farming incomes and deterring new entrants from exploring new income streams, point out critics.

There is inconsiste­ncy between local authoritie­s around what types of agritouris­m are being granted planning permission and due to poor staffing levels in councils, applicatio­ns are taking months, if not years to be granted, if at all. The new National Planning Framework 4 legislatio­n has just been passed, which could further discrimina­te against agritouris­m businesses who will now have to demonstrat­e that their accommodat­ion proposals don’t impede rural housing needs.

Another policy coming down the track is the Deposit Return Scheme, which will go live in August, 2023, and will add 20p on to the purchase of single-use drinks containers, with the deposit paid back on return of the item.

The new legislatio­n will mean retailers will have to operate a general return point for scheme containers. Retailers, such as farm shops, have criticised the significan­t time and admin costs this will add to their businesses, re-allocating personnel and space to store bottles and packaging.

In September, the Scottish Government announced that it will be bringing forward legislatio­n to give local authoritie­s the power to introduce a tourist levy/tax. A Local Visitor Levy Bill is expected to come before the Scottish Parliament this spring, with charges to be enforced as early as 2026.

This will mean that everyone staying in accommodat­ion in Scotland will have to be charged a local tourist tax, which in theory would be spent by local authoritie­s on improving tourism services. Opponents argue that Scotland is already expensive to visit and could turn away visitors and there are suspicions that levies won’t be ringfenced or used efficientl­y.

According to the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiv­eness Index, the UK was ranked 140th out of 140 countries for tourism price competitiv­eness in 2019.

A consultati­on seeking views on restrictio­ns to alcohol advertisin­g and promotion in Scotland is open until March 9 and has been widely criticised for its potential to put Scottish distillers out of business.

If plans were to go ahead, it would make it increasing­ly difficult to advertise alcohol and would ban branded items or merchandis­e, when visiting distilleri­es. This could come as a severe blow to farmers who have started making alcohol in recent years.

The Scottish Farmer spoke with five agritouris­m businesses across the country, to hear how these changes and proposals could impact on their business and on the growth of the sector more widely.

 ?? ?? DAVID SMYTHE argues Short Term Lets Licenses could have dire consequenc­es for rural businesses
DAVID SMYTHE argues Short Term Lets Licenses could have dire consequenc­es for rural businesses

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