An Angus Airbnb operator has won approval for a village holiday let labelled the “wrong place, wrong time”.
And Angela McGoldrick promised local licensing councillors she will do everything she can to make sure guests play by the rules at the popular Monikie house.
She has won rave reviews online for the Fiddler’s Retreat in the village near Dundee.
The three-bed home is in a cul-de-sac on the site of the one-time Fiddler’s Arms pub, which was demolished decades ago.
Ms McGoldrick went before Angus licensing councillors for a three-year short-term let approval.
It follows new legislation which came into force across Scotland earlier this year.
Barrage of complaints
But residents in the quiet neighbourhood said it was making their lives a misery.
Local Moz Cammack told councillors: “This is a small cul-de-sac of nine properties and seven out of the nine say this is disrupting residents.
“Everyone who comes is on holiday.
“We have multiple vehicles (arriving) – the most we’ve had is five turning up in our small cul-de-sac.
“We’ve had people having barbecues at three o’clock in the morning.
“The garage is a games room and we’ve had to go over multiple times to ask them to stop the noise.
“We’ve no argument with the home owner but I just don’t think lets like this should be allowed in a small residential street.
“I don’t think the disruption it brings to our lives is acceptable.”
‘Mindful of neighbours’
Ms McGoldrick said the Fiddler’s Retreat is advertised through online sites and is very popular.
The minimum stay is three nights.
And reviews on sites like Cottages.com and Airbnb have described the property as a “superb houses in an ideal location”.
“I think there’s a little bit of a contradiction – there’s one rule for my property and one rule for the people who live there,” she said.
“There have been neighbours that complained to me and as soon as they did that I dealt with it.
“In comparison to the numbers that come through the door the incidents are minimal.
“I’m mindful of my neighbours and I certainly don’t want to upset them.
“It is a business, but it is also a service to the community in terms of tourism.
“I know every council is dealing with this. If this gets shut down how many more are you going to shut down?”
She said there are a number of notices for guests asking them to be respectful of the neighbours.
Ms McGoldrick promised to put a 10pm limit on the use of the games room to cut down on night-time noise.
And if that does not work she will do away with it completely.
Committee vote
Local councillor Lloyd Melville said: “There needs to be a delicate balance between long-term accommodation and tourism accommodation.
“Given how busy it seems to be there must be demand.
“If the rules are clear and the guests don’t abide by them that’s with them and not you – you’re a very responsible operator.”
But Forfar colleague Linda Clark moved to block the application.
She said: “I’m not against anyone involved in tourism accommodation in Scotland because that’s something I champion.
“But in essence I just can’t agree that this is correct for this area.
“The expression NIMBYism was used – that’s not why I’m doing this.
“I would have to say I’m minded to think, wrong place, wrong time.”
The civic licensing committee voted 8-1 to grant the three-year short-term let licence.
Conversation