Australian family given permission to let East Lothian flat after two-year battle

An Australian family who argued their Musselburgh holiday flat lets their parents see their grandchildren have won a two-year battle to keep renting it out.

Peter Oliver had seen applications for a change of use of the first-floor flat in Bush Terrace to a short-term holiday let turned down twice by East Lothian Council planners, who said it was harmful to the amenity of other residents in the three-storey building.

However, a meeting of the local authority’s Local Review Body this week saw councillors overturn their officers decision after Mr Oliver amended the plans to make the minimum stay 14 days and allow only one bedroom in the two-bedroom property to be used.

The changes mean that no more than two guests can stay at any given time, and persuaded council leader Norman Hampshire that it would not impact the neighbours.

He also said the type of guests who used it tended to be people who were staying in the town for work or visiting their own families.

At a meeting of the review body, Councillor Hampshire said: “The proposal in front of us is for accommodation for people who are in longer stays and also for professional people who are here for employment opportunities like Queen Margaret University, so I see this differently from a holiday let type accommodation.

“I think this is something that is definitely required within the area so I am going to support this because of the way this business is going to be operated.”

Mr Oliver initially applied for a change of use to a short-term holiday let for the flat in late 2023, telling planners he and his family emigrated to Australia six years earlier and used it to visit his parents.

Council planners refused the original application, which involved using both bedrooms for guests, and an appeal to the council’s Local Review Body was also rejected, along with a further appeal to Scottish Ministers over an enforcement notice.

Applying for a change of use again, Mr Oliver said the second bedroom in the flat would be locked as it contained family items stored for when they visited themselves.

Officers refused it again, saying it was “incompatible with and harmful to the amenity of the occupiers of the properties within the residential building.”

At the Local Review Body meeting this week, councillor Andy Forrest backed officers saying: “For me, the problem I have is that it is harmful to the amenity of the occupiers of the other flats.”

Fellow review body member John McMillan disagreed, saying the type of accommodation being offered was needed and that there were no objections from neighbours.

He said: “I note the special circumstances of the owner living in Australia and wanting to keep the house for coming back in the sense that he doesn’t want to let it out as part of the housing stock. I think we respect that of an owner, and with that comes costs.”

The review body upheld the appeal by two votes to one.