Friday May 26th 2023
Flat in Springfield Gardens, North Berwick, is a holiday let. Photo credit Google.
Objectors to a seaside town flat being used as a holiday let complained guests did not use recycling bins properly, causing ‘disruption’ to shared bin services.
The owner of the flat in North Berwick applied for retrospective permission to change its use to holiday accommodation from East Lothian Council planners.
Planners said the property on Springfield Gardens had been operating as a holiday home for seven years with no complaints.
However they received three objections to the change of use, including claims the bins were not used properly, the loss of long term accommodation in the town and concerns about disturbance caused by holiday lets.
And they said they received an additional representation about the bins stating “there is an ongoing issue with guests not using the bins and recycling boxes correctly… this has resulted in the refuse collection supervisor advising that bins/recycling boxed will not be collected if this matter is not addressed.”
Planners said the self-contained flat had its own private entrance and was managed by North Berwick Holiday Homes.
They said the separate entrance and use of services such as waste and recycling meant use of the flat would not be ‘evidentially different’ to if it had a long term resident.
Protesters also argued that the influx of short term lets in North Berwick was creating problems saying: “the perceived economic benefits of tourism to the locality do not, in practice, outweigh the wider issues that have been caused by the proliferation of short term lets in the central area of North Berwick.”
However planners said: “On balance, the local economic benefits associated with the use of the applicant’s flat operating as a short term self catering holiday let accommodation outweighs the loss of residential accommodation.”
The change of use was approved.
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