Argyll & Bute Short-Term Let Control Area 2026: Why We're Opposing It
Argyll & Bute Council is consulting on a proposed Short-Term Let Control Area. It would cover Mull and Iona; Coll and Tiree; Islay, Jura and Colonsay; and Oban, Lorn and the Inner Isles.
The consultation closes on Sunday 1 November 2026.
As a locally run holiday letting business in Oban, we're opposing the proposal. Here's why, and how to make your view count.
What's being proposed for the short-term let control area?
Inside a control area, any new use of a house or flat as a holiday let would always need planning permission. The Council says the aim is to protect housing in the areas under most pressure.
We don't dispute that housing pressure is real. Finding homes for local workers and families is a genuine problem across Argyll & Bute. Our question is whether this Short-Term let Control Area proposal will actually help, and whether people have what they need to judge it.
So what are our concerns?
The costs have been left out.
When councillors considered this in June, their paper set out the economic value of a self-catering property against a residential home. It also admitted the Council could not say how many homes the policy would actually bring back into use.
Neither point appears in the documents published for the consultation. People are being asked to weigh up a policy without seeing the costs or knowing the likely benefit.
There's no evidence yet that control areas work.
As the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers (ASSC) has pointed out, Highland Council's own review of its Badenoch and Strathspey control area has not yet shown any measurable housing benefit.
The headline figure isn't about holiday lets.
The Council says up to 42% of housing in some areas isn't available as permanent homes. But that figure combines holiday lets with second homes and long-term empty properties. On the Council's own figures, around six in ten of those homes are second homes or empty properties, not holiday lets. A policy aimed only at holiday lets can't fix a problem mostly made up of something else.
Existing businesses are left in the dark.
The survey doesn't ask whether established, licensed businesses should be treated differently from new ones. And the Council's own FAQ says the service meant to tell existing operators whether they'd need planning permission is still "under development". So an established self-catering business has no way to find out how it would be affected while the consultation is running.
The rules that decide individual cases come later.
The planning policy that would decide whether individual applications are approved or refused is being consulted on separately, at a later date, with no date given. You're being asked to support or oppose the control area before seeing the rules that would actually be applied.
Six weeks isn't enough.
The Council's current Visitor Levy consultation runs for 12 weeks. This one, on a proposal with far bigger consequences for local businesses, runs for just six. We firmly believe it should be 12 weeks, and we've written to the Council's Chief Executive and Leader asking for it to be extended.
The ASSC has called on the Council to pause the proposals until it has taken independent legal advice and properly assessed the consequences for existing businesses.
Why this matters
Self-catering isn't a side issue here. Holiday lets bring visitors who spend money in local shops, cafés, restaurants and attractions. They support cleaners, tradespeople and local jobs, often in places with few hotels. Many are small, family-run businesses. We think any policy that affects them should be based on complete evidence and a fair process.
How to make your view count on the Argyll & Bute Short-Term Let Control Area
If you want to have your say on the Argyll & Bute Short-Term Let Control Area, now's your time.
Read the Council's consultation page and Statement of Reasons before you respond.
Answer in your own words. If you run a self-catering business, explain how long you've operated, that it's licensed, and what it means to you.
If you live locally, say what visitors mean to your community and your work.
Have your say before 1 November 2026: https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-policy/proposed-short-term-lets-control-area
Whether you live here, visit, or run a business, this decision will shape tourism and housing across Argyll & Bute for years.
Please take ten minutes to respond.
