Lochaber councillors have backed plans to introduce greater control over new short term lets as figures show almost one in ten homes in the area is now being used for holiday accommodation.

The Lochaber Area Committee agreed on Monday 10 August to recommend that the area is included within a proposed Highland Rural Short Term Let Control Area, following a six week public consultation held during May and June.

The proposal will now be considered alongside recommendations from other Area Committees before Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee decides whether to seek approval from Scottish Ministers.

Of those responding to the consultation in Lochaber, 60% supported the proposed control area and 36% opposed it.

Support was considerably stronger among residents and businesses, with 56 of the 73 respondents in those groups, equivalent to 77%, backing the proposal.

The figures behind the decision illustrate the scale of the housing pressures facing communities across Lochaber, where almost 10% of homes are being used as short term lets, around twice the Highland average.

A further 5% of properties are empty and 4% are second homes, while council figures indicate that 46% of residents cannot afford an entry level property.

The proposed control area would not ban short term lets and would not affect existing lawful operators, purpose built tourist accommodation or properties which would already have required planning permission.

Instead, anyone seeking to change a residential property into a secondary short term let would require planning permission, allowing each proposal to be considered individually.

Lochaber Area Committee Chair Councillor Kate Willis said:

“The data highlights the scale of the housing challenge facing Lochaber.

“Almost 10% of homes are used as short-term lets, double the Highland average, while 5% are empty and 4% are second homes.

“The data also shows that 46% of residents cannot afford an entry-level property, underlining the pressures facing local households.

“While increasing the number of homes available for permanent occupation will not, on its own, solve affordability challenges, it can help ease pressure on an already constrained housing market.

“In a market where demand significantly outstrips supply, increasing the number of homes available to residents may provide more opportunities for people to secure suitable accommodation and compete more effectively for housing within their communities.

“Lochaber’s tourism economy is vital and supports jobs, businesses and communities across the area.

“However, we must also recognise the impact that housing shortages are having on residents, employers across a wide range of sectors and key workers who are struggling to find affordable homes close to where they live and work.

“There is no single solution to these challenges.

“Increasing housing supply remains the priority, but in the last five years, over 7% of new houses built in Lochaber have become STLs, which is much higher than the rest of Highland (4.7%), so we clearly need more effective tools to manage this.

“This needs to happen alongside delivering more affordable housing, bringing empty homes back into use, and improving access to housing across all tenures.

“The potential introduction of a Short-Term Let Control Area should be considered as one part of the wider Highland Housing Challenge response.

“The aim is to ensure future housing growth better reflects local need while maintaining a strong and sustainable visitor economy.

“By taking action across a range of measures, we can support the long-term sustainability of Lochaber’s communities, workforce and economy.”

The recommendation is only one stage in the process, but the consultation results suggest considerable local appetite for greater control over how residential properties enter the short term letting market.

For Lochaber, the difficult balance remains unchanged: sustaining a tourism industry on which thousands of livelihoods depend while ensuring the communities supporting that industry remain places where people can actually find somewhere to live.