New holiday let rules to help tackle Fringe accommodation crisis
New holiday let rules to help tackle Fringe accommodation crisis
Plus: Seaweed replacing plastics; EICC bonus row; and helping save two former cinemas
Scottish Government considering new guidance to allow more holiday lets in August
Scottish Housing Minister Paul McLennan is considering issuing new guidance which would make it easier for home owners to let their properties in Edinburgh in August.
Comedy stars Jason Manford and Gail Porter have reignited the debate about the soaring cost of accommodation in the city in August, warning many performers are being priced out of performing at the Fringe.
The move follows the introduction of strict short term lets regulations in the Capital which has seen a collapse in the sector, taking potentially thousands of rental properties off the market.
Now Mr McLennan, who is the MSP for East Lothian, is looking at issuing guidance which would spell out the right of home owners to rent out their property - or do home swaps - for a limited time each year.
The context: This year’s Fringe will be the first since Edinburgh became the first local authority in Scotland to impose tight restrictions on holiday lets. The move was designed to return thousands of holiday let properties to residential use, but sparked warnings it would exacerbate the cost crisis facing the Fringe by sending the price of accommodation in August even higher.
The council leader says: City council leader Cammy Day said it was important to strike the right balance between providing affordable homes during a housing emergency and supporting jobs in the city’s tourism sector. He said: “We’re not stopping homeowners from renting out a spare room and we’re seeing new hotels open all the time which expands the accommodation options Edinburgh has to offer. Recently I met with the Minister for Housing who will provide further guidance. The council may then wish to consider policies around specific areas like home swaps and home letting.”
The holiday let operators say: Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said short-term lets (STLs) had been “scapegoated” for wider housing problems. She said: “The reduction in availability of this type of accommodation - an essential part of the tourism sector - is driving up costs. The council once said there were 12,000 STLs in the city but just 105 secondary lets have been granted a full license.”
The Fringe says: Responding to Jason Manford’s concerns on X, formerly Twitter, the Fringe said: “t’s a real issue. We’re doing what we can to provide affordable accommodation and other support for artists, including our new Keep it Fringe fund.”
The Jersey model: Other popular tourist cities around the world operate systems where homes can be used as holiday lets for a limited period each year. In Jersey, for example, the law was amended earlier this month to allow islanders to rent out their homes for up to 12 weeks a year without planning permission.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
WRITER BOOSTS CINEMA CAMPAIGN: The best-selling US author VE Schwab has been identified as the philanthropist supporting a community campaign to save an art deco cinema in Portobello. Victoria Schwab, who has a home in the seaside community, is backing the Save the George group who hope to buy and restore the crumbling building. Schwab’s fantasy novels and short stories are international best-sellers and one provided the inspiration for the Netflix drama First Kill.
ODEON REOPENING: Work to restore the much-missed Odeon in Clerk Street has taken a major step forward. The art deco cinema has been empty for more than 20 years, but pub and club owner Stefan King plans to reopen it as a cinema and nightclub. Restoration work is underway, Edinburgh Live reports, after 12 months of work to shore up the building.
WATER FUN: Get there early… it’s been known to attract up to 10,000 people! Watersports, streetfood, kids’ activities, will all be amongst the excitement on offer as Port Edgar Open Weekend returns for a special 10th Anniversary event on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May. Activities should be pre-booked. For further information visit www.portedgar.co.uk
WAVERLEY FIRST: Waverley is to be the first railway station in the UK to install information screens with British Sign Language (BSL) alongside Glasgow Central. BSL will appear on the main boards as part of plans to make the station more accessible to deaf passengers.
BIGGEST BONUS: The bonus paid to the chief executive of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) was the highest paid by any local authority or council-owned company in the UK. Marshall Dallas received a £72,280 bonus on top of his £158,711 salary, giving him a total pay package including pension payments of £249,243. The EICC, which is a private company wholly owned by the city council, said the payment was down to its “operating performance” and the ongoing construction of a 350-bed conference centre hotel and hotel school.
‘Eye-watering’: The payment has been described as “eye-watering” by Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP for Edinburgh East, at a time when the local authority has had to cut £80million from its budget. The council leader Labour’s Cammy Day said he does “not agree with bonuses like this in arms’ length companies”.
In defence: The chair of the EICC, Labour councillor Lezley Marion-Cameron, said: “The EICC is a limited company, it’s very different from the council and it’s proven highly successful over the years. And it’s delivering huge economic and other benefits for this city.”
TAXING TIME: Barcelona has raised its so-called tourist tax for the second time in four years amid ongoing concern about “over-tourism”. Visitors now see an extra 3.25Euros a night added to their bills. Critics of Edinburgh’s plans have raised concerns that once introduced the levy could be hiked up. Barcelona attracts 7m visitors a year compared to 4.3m in Edinburgh.
YOU’RE NICKED: Police hunting a man accused of breaking his bail conditions hiding in a small kitchen cupboard in Wester Hailes. The force released a picture of his hiding place on social media with the caption “Seek and ye shall find”.
CARE HOME PLAN: Plans for a 48-bed care home in Fairmilehead will go before councillors later this week, recommended for approval despite 177 objections being received. Planning officials will tell the Development Management sub-committee on Wednesday that the application for 5 Winton Drive meets local planning requirements and there are no reasonable grounds for refusal, despite the volume of local objections. Twenty letters of support have also been received.
WASTE DEPOT HOMES: A total of 134 homes, more than half of which would be affordable housing, would be built at the former Powderhall waste depot under plans drawn up by Cruden. The developer has submitted a planning application for 127 of those homes, including town houses, for the Broughton Road site.
MINI-IKEA: The Danish homeware and furniture store Sostrene Grene - sometimes described as a mini-Ikea - is to open its first Edinburgh outlet in the Waverly Market. The chain was founded in 1973 by husband and wife Inger Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen.
SIXTIES BLOCK TO GO-GO: A 1960s office block would be partially demolished in Orchard Brae under plans to turn it into flats, co-working spaces and student accommodation. The rear extension of Finance House would be knocked down and replaced as part of planning proposals presented by Square and Crescent to the city council.
THE BUSINESS
Eureka moment could see seaweed replace many plastics
A university spin-out company is leading the charge to replace plastics across a multitude of uses – working with nine companies across 13 different projects.
Mercel emerged from work at Edinburgh Napier when two scientists discovered they could use seaweed waste to produce a bio-degradable alternative to chemical plastics.
They have already started testing it as a replacement for synthetic plastics in a range of practical uses, including as a binder for laundry products, a waterproof coating, and a delivery system for medical ingredients.
Mark Dorris and Dominic O'Rourke founded Mercel after realising they could make high-value nanomaterial from brown seaweed extract, with zero waste. Having appointed Alastair Kennedy as Chief Commercial Officer, the three-strong firm are now planning to set up a new base in Fife, to develop the product’s uses and license the technology for wider production.
Mark Dorris said: “There are very few ‘eureka’ moments in science – but this was one of them… We immediately saw the potential of using brown seaweed cellulose from existing seaweed processing to produce nanocellulose. The seaweed is typically harvested for alginate, which is used mostly as a food thickener, and the cellulose left behind was historically viewed as a waste product.
“We’re aiming this at hidden plastics, binders, thickeners: many of the chemical ingredients you read on the back of a bottle and wonder what they are. They’re hard to replace, but that’s what this can do.
“Regulation on synthetic chemicals is increasingly being tightened, so we are hoping to create something future-proof – as it is completely natural, sustainable, and non-animal in its origin.”
PROFITS SOAR: Edinburgh-based private bank Hampden & Co has seen its pre-tax profit more than quadruple – to £9.1 million from £2 million - in 2023. Customer numbers also grew, by 19 per cent to 5598. Total lending was up by 9 per cent to £488 million largely driven by mortgages, while deposits increased 8 per cent to £858 million.
CAPITAL PREVAILS: Edinburgh Law School has maintained its position within the top 25 law schools in the world for the fifth consecutive year. The QS World University Rankings placed the law school at number 20, sixth in the UK and top in Scotland.
ON A ROLL: An innovative Edinburgh start-up business could create gluten-safe food products – including bread – without losing any of the taste and texture of the real thing. Prozymi Biolabs, a biotechnology business with facilities at the Roslin Innovation Centre, is already in talks with a leading UK baker to explore potential collaboration. They are exploring a new enzyme technology that degrades gliadin – the protein in gluten responsible for provoking an immune system response and celiac disease. Gluten will remain present in the baked goods, but with gliadin deactivated it will be safe to consume for those with an intolerance.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
MITSKI’S BACK: Indie superstar Mitski took the world by storm with her Be the Cowboy album back in 2018. She’s back on the road for the first time since 2019, with a new single Working for the Knife, and you can catch her at the Usher Hall on Saturday and Sunday night.
REBEL REBEL: Expect no holds barred when Hollywood’s favourite funny woman comes to the Usher Hall. The star of Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids will be talking about her upcoming book Rebel Rising during An Evening with Rebel Wilson on Wednesday, 24 April. The book is already making waves after Wilson dished the dirt on comedian and former co-star Sacha Baron Cohen, who she describes as an a***hole. Cohen denies her claims.
STRICTLY STAR: Surely everyone’s favourite Strictly Come Dancing star, Johannes Radebe, brings his House of Jojo to the Playhouse on Sunday night. Expect roof-raising music, dazzling costumes and, of course, world-class dance.
QUICK BITES
GRAZIE: A combination of tough trading conditions has forced the closure of long-running and much-loved Italian restaurant Bar Italia Ristorante in Lothian Road. The family-owned venue maintains the costs of stock and in particular energy were key factors in their decision after 24 years of trading. The sister restaurant, Ciao Roma on South Bridge, will remain open.
STAR STEAK: Popular steakhouse The Spanish Butcher has confirmed it will open in Edinburgh on Friday, 10 May. The Glasgow original, which opened in 2016, has attracted customers including stars like Gerard Butler, Will Ferrell and Paolo Nutini. The Edinburgh venue will be at 58A North Castle Street.