Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mark Irvine, Andrew Kain and Paul Donald Kennedy.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report by Regulatory Services and Building Standards Manager

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  In line with recent legislation for Civic Government Hearings, the parties (and any representatives) were given the options for participating in the meeting today.  The options available were by video call, by audio call or by written submission.  For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of video call and Mr Toberman joined the meeting by MS Teams.

Mrs Lowsley, Objector, also opted to proceed by way of video call and joined the meeting by MS Teams. It was noted that Mr Lowsley and Mr Russell, Objectors, were also invited to attend the meeting but were unable to do so.

The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Licensing Standards Officer to speak to the terms of the report.

The Chair then invited the Applicant to speak in support of the application. 

APPLICANT’S AGENT

Mr Shanks advised that he managed the property on behalf of the management company, BnBHost, and that the property had been a pleasure to manage. He advised that the property was marketed for families, and it had been lovely to see people being able to book and enjoy a property in a spectacular part of Scotland. He noted that the property had also housed staff from Faslane who were working in the area for extended periods of time. Mr Shanks advised that the Applicants were a pleasure to deal with, and were very responsive and readily available to correspond with.

Mr Shanks outlined the process followed to ensure that only quality guests were allowed to stay at the property. He advised that procedures had been put in place to ensure that the importance of being respectful to neighbours and their privacy was highlighted to guests, and that he was open to corresponding with neighbours about anything further which could be done to assist. He noted that he had introduced himself to the neighbours and provided his contact details when he had started to manage the property, and they had been very gracious and provided recommendations for local restaurants in the area for inclusion in the property guestbook.

QUESTIONS FROM OBJECTOR

Mrs Lowsley advised that she had tried to contact the Applicant, Mr Toberman, and his partner, Ms Campbell, directly on a number of occasions to discuss matters, but had received no response. She noted that she felt that she had not received sufficient information about the context of the Applicants long-term intentions with regard to letting out the property, and would have preferred to have discussed this with them directly. She asked Mr Toberman and Ms Campbell why they had avoided discussing these matters in advance of the meeting, and noted that this may have avoided the need for the meeting to take place. Mrs Lowsley also highlighted concerns about the excess noise levels caused by guests.

Mr Toberman advised that, prior to the start of the application process, where any concerns arose around the property he had attempted to reply as quickly and as helpfully as he could, and passed on concerns to the management company as quickly as possible. He noted that recently he had received legal advice indicating that it would better to avoid corresponding with Mr and Mrs Lowsley directly about specific issues.

Mrs Lowsley asked why Mr Toberman would have received legal advice not to correspond with them. Mr Toberman indicated that he did not wish to discuss the legal advice that he had received in this forum.

Mrs Lowsley advised that she understood that efforts had been made to address the disturbance issues raised, but that they had been unsuccessful. She asked what could be done in addition to the existing mechanisms in place.

Mr Shanks advised that there are often additional measures which can be put in place, and many of these involve additional communication with guests. He advised that he would be happy to discuss what could be put in place to make Mrs Lowsley feel more comfortable, such as increasing the quiet hours at the property. He advised that the importance of being respectful to neighbours was already very clearly outlined in the guidebook for the property.

Mrs Lowsley suggested that the property being in a rural area may allow guests to feel that they can make excessive noise. She advised that regardless of the good intentions of Mr Shanks, people staying at the property were taking advantage of the situation, and that the occupants of the neighbouring properties were having to spend time monitoring a property that they should have no involvement with. She also noted that at weekends, often additional guests appeared at the property, which increased the risk of excessive noise. She expressed frustration with this, and asked Mr Shanks how this could be resolved.

Mr Shanks advised that he would be happy to explore possible solutions to people staying at the property having additional guests, such as implementing a Ring doorbell camera to monitor the situation. Mrs Lowsley advised that she would be strongly opposed to having cameras implemented around the property. Mr Shanks advised that he would not impose any measures which the occupants of the neighbouring properties did not feel comfortable with.

OBJECTOR

Mrs Lowsley advised that her concerns had been outlined clearly in her written submissions. She advised that she was grateful for the efforts that had been made to address the issues outlined with regard to anti-social behaviour and waste disposal, however they remained a very serious concern.

Mrs Lowsley advised that in the past the bins at the property had been overflowing, which had led to guests using her bins. She advised that the waste disposal company hired to address the issue had brought a very large vehicle onto the shared private driveway, and caused damage.

Mrs Lowsley noted that pictures of damage caused to her car had been provided for Members. She also outlined damage done to the wall of her property by someone reversing down the shared driveway. She advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.