'Party flat' operator refused permission to keep renting hits back at East Lothian council

An Airbnb operator who was refused permission to keep renting out his Musselburgh short-term let flat has appealed to Scottish Ministers.

Alan Montgomery claimed council officers took too long to tell him of the decision.

He was refused a certificate of lawfulness to operate the top floor flat on Edinburgh Road last year and then after planners refused permission for a change of use.

His appeal to East Lothian Council’s Local Review Body was also rejected.

At a licensing meeting last year, neighbours complained that the property was a “party flat” and alleged that on one occasion, guests had sex so “vigorously” that a clock fell off the wall of the flat downstairs.

Despite this, a licence to operate was granted.

However, the council refused planning permission to operate, which is also required, because the flat shares a communal hall with five other properties occupied by long-term residents.

Now in an appeal to Scottish Ministers, Mr Montgomery says the council letter notifying him that he had lost his appeal to the review body was not issued for 35 days when it should have been sent out within three weeks.

He says: “I believe this is in breach of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) act 1997 (as Amended) as it is out with the allotted time frame.”

Scottish Ministers, earlier this week, refused an appeal by Mr Montgomery against the decision to refuse planning permission, as it had already been dealt with by the review body, but they have agreed to look into the claim that the case was not dealt with properly.

As well as a missed deadline, Mr Montgomery also claims that officers should have considered the property in the same way as a bed and breakfast is considered as a Class 9 building – saying its use is the same.

He says: “If a bed & breakfast is considered class 9, then surely my three-bedroom STL (short-term let) should be too.

“My house functions as a residential property regardless of length of stay, planning should regulate land use not occupancy contracts, identical properties should not be classified differently based solely on duration.”

The appeal is listed on the Planning Appeals DPEA website and will be considered by a Scottish Government Reporter.