Yorkshire AirBnB owner urges people not to dismiss importance to local economy

A consultation will be held on May 25 to discuss proposals to introduce a national registration scheme for short-term lets and to require planning permission for homes to be used as holiday lets in some circumstances.

Rachael Maskell MP for York Central is hosting the meeting, who said: “The expansion of short-term holiday lets, and their impact on community life, is an issue of great concern to me and many other residents across the city”.

Ms Maskell has been encouraging the government to take on a new bill to require more red tape for potential holiday let owners.

John Wright has been letting out a holiday home in Bishopthorpe Road, York, since April 2018 and is proud he has only had one complaint in that time.

He said: “If it was properly thought through then I think most would welcome it.”

On planning permission, he added: “I would guess it is probably not a bad thing. But obviously any barriers for entry are always going to be an issue for entrepreneurs trying to set up a business. What we wouldn’t want is things going to planning committees and consultations”.

Mr Wright added that although York’s ‘hen-do city’ reputation gives its holiday lets a bad name, he said they are key to the local economy.

“In Bishy Road where my holiday let is, there are bars and artisan bakeries where people visiting with expendable income spend their money,” he said. “There has become a co-dependency with those shops and holiday lets to ensure there is a flourishing local economy”.

This issue is also something the new leader of the City of York Council has been keen on tackling.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post following her appointment as leader, Coun Claire Douglas said: “We’ve committed to extending licensing of landlords and doing what we can to make sure Airbnbs and short-term holiday lets aren’t as prolific in the city as they currently are, because really in some areas they are quite dominant”.