Council Leader Cammy Day's statement.
Council Leader Cammy Day said:
I’ve received today’s judgement and am pleased that we’ve been successful in defending large parts of our policy.
While I’m obviously disappointed that the court didn’t find in favour of our policy on secondary lets, I make absolutely no apology for seeking to protect our residents.
It’s no secret that we face unique housing pressures here in Edinburgh, with a small but densely populated city centre and fast growing population, and it's crucial for us to strike the right balance between promoting our visitor economy while looking after the people that live here all year round.
Our residents have told us that, in many cases, STLs are hollowing out their communities, reducing housing supply and increasing housing costs. We can’t forget that many have endured years of disturbance and anti-social behaviour and we will continue to work hard to get this right.
The court acknowledged our intention to find a solution to this and agreed that it was legitimate to use both planning and licensing policy. We welcome the clarity provided and will now consider our next steps in more detail.
We remain committed to ensuring the whole city benefits from our thriving visitor economy but it has to be managed and it has to be sustainable – and I continue to believe that fair and effective STL controls would be an important step in the right direction.
ENDS.