Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Armour, Amanda Hampsey, Daniel Hampsey and Paul Kennedy

 

There were no declarations of interest.

Report by Regulatory Services and Building Standards Manager

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  In line with recent legislation for Civic Government Hearings, the parties (and any representatives) were given the options for participating in the meeting today.  The options available were by video call, by audio call or by written submission.  For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of video call and Kathryn Lowe joined the meeting by MS Teams.

 

Colin Matthews, Objector opted to proceed by way of audio call and joined the meeting by telephone.

 

The Chair invited the Licensing Standards Officer to speak to the terms of the report.

 

Thereafter the procedure set out in Appendix 8 of the report was followed and the Chair invited the Applicant to speak in support for their application.

 

APPLICANT

 

Ms Lowe advised that she had owned and invested in the property for the last 13 years and that if the licence was granted she intended to run it as a short term let in a responsible and respectful manner.  It was not anticipated that there would be a high turnover of visitors and she would be using the property for herself and young son on occasions.  Ms Lowe confirmed that the property would not be a party flat and that one of the bedrooms was furnished with children in mind. Ms Lowe added that she would monitor and vet who would be using the property.

 

QUESTIONS FROM OBJECTORS

 

Mr Matthews stated he has owned two flats within the building for the past 12 years and that Ms Lowe had suggested that she cares for the building but he had seen no evidence of that and that there was only one other resident, besides him, that has taken care of the building.

                                                                                                

Ms Lowe advised that she had previously let her property out on a long term basis and had experienced problems with her tenant, which made it difficult to gain access to the property or building. Ms Lowe reported that it had taken 3 different court cases to have the tenant removed and to secure access to the property.  Ms Lowe stated that on regaining access to her flat she has repaired much of the damage internally and was willing to be involved in looking after the shared areas, such as the front door lock and waste collection points.

 

OBJECTORS

 

Mr Matthews noted that within the application it stated that the property would be used on a minimal basis, however, if the licence is granted existing residents would have no control over how many times a year the property is let.  He also stated that he had owned two flats within the building, currently one, and has never applied for a short term let as he believes that it does not suit the building.

 

QUESTIONS FROM APPLICANT

 

There were no questions from the Applicant.

 

MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS

 

Councillor Philand asked Ms Lowe how she would be able to vet visitors to her property? 

 

Ms Lowe advised that all bookings would be placed via Airbnb, as it shows the profile and ratings of people and that she would only confirm bookings with couples or families that have strong reviews.  Ms Lowe added that this booking platform also allows owners to leave a review of visitors who have visited and have been respectful and left it in a clean state.

 

Councillor Hardie asked the Objector, Mr Matthews, if he stayed in either of his properties within the building?

 

Mr Matthews responded that he lives in one of the flats and had recently sold the other.

 

Councillor Hardie then asked Mr Matthews if he thought there would be a privacy issue should the licence be granted?

 

Mr Matthew responded yes and that would be due to the volume of people if the property was let on a regular basis, if only occasionally let then possibly not.

 

Councillor Brown asked the Applicant if she would have a property manager in the vicinity.

 

Ms Lowe responded that she had a manager who lived minutes away from the property and would meet and greet the visitors and that she herself would also be contactable.  Ms Lowe confirmed that she was also willing to let the neighbours have the contact details for the manager and herself.

 

Councillor Kennedy-Boyle asked, having lived in a tenement in the past, how would the Applicant manage the communal areas?

 

Ms Lowe advised that she pays factor fees at the moment for the building upkeep and communal areas, however, she is willing to be actively involved in securing a lock for the front door and looking after the other communal areas.

 

Councillor Kennedy-Boyle asked the Objector, what he felt was missing from the additional conditions?

 

Mr Matthews stated that on the application it was emphasised that there would be minimal number of uses throughout the year, there are no reassurances that this will be the case.

 

Councillor Blair asked if the fees that are collected by the Factor would cover the replacing of the lock on the front main entrance?

 

Both Applicant and Objector agreed that it probably would be covered by the Factor.

 

Councillor Kennedy-Boyle asked the Applicant what the minimum stay would be?

 

The Applicant advised that one night stays would not be sustainable and it would be an absolute 3 night minimum, if the licence was granted.

 

SUMMING UP

 

Objectors

 

Mr Matthews stated that his opinion was that the building was more suitable for long term lets of full occupancy.  There was no assurance of how many times the flat would be let out and was concerned with the lack of security on the main door.  However, that is something that the factors could investigate.

 

Applicant

 

Ms Lowe advised that her previous experience with a longterm tenant had proved problematic and that she would have more control and oversight of short term lets and that she was willing to be involved with the Factor and work with the full time residents.  Ms Lowe stated that the property is a seafront property flat which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.