02/08/2023
Update on Save the Self-Catering Sector in Scotland
It’s the 1st of August and this morning Paul McLennan urged all self-catering operators to get applying for an STL Licence. Iceberg, what iceberg? He is well aware that nearly all the lifeboats he expects the sector to jump Into are riddled with holes.
NEXT STEPS
This fight began late In 2022 and the team that came together then Is NOT about to give up. We're determined to keep fighting the fight because this legislation is wrong on so many levels. We all know (even if our elected leaders seemingly don’t) that the damage it will cause to Scotland and its people is too grave to sit back and do nothing. We were innocent enough to feel ecstatic after winning the first Judicial Review (JR1), only to then realise we may have won that battle, but we have yet to win the war.
Last week Paul McLennan rejected all 14 red flags and solutions which he invited the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers to raise with him.
We are currently looking into all legal avenues - Internal Markets Act, Competition Law, Edinburgh Council’s commercial conflict of interest due to It owning the Hyatt hotel, etc. Papers for our next battle (which we are calling JR2) regarding retrospective planning have been lodged with two of the team, Louise Dickins and Iain Muirhead, as lead petitioners.
This morning, we met with very skilled folk who can provide media support and advice to help us build greater public awareness in the national and local press across the country. People need to understand how this is going to impact them. How, very shortly, going on holiday in Scotland is going to become much harder/more expensive. How you can’t have a lodger or house swap after 1st October without a licence or even, extraordinarily, have a live-in carer.
Currently, we don’t know how much money we’ll receive from Edinburgh Council in repaying the legal expenses that Lord Braid awarded to the petitioners for JR1. We don’t know when the campaign will receive it either. The process is complicated and, of course, Edinburgh Council will drag it out as long as possible.
As backers, it's important that we keep you up to speed on our next steps. We plan on using the funds raised to continue to fight for justice for everyone affected. We have always treated the funds with care recognising we need to maximise the effect of every penny spent. That includes an enormous amount of every team member's time which we give freely in the hope and expectation that we will ultimately succeed in bringing reason and sanity to this issue. Our intention is, and always has been, to help as many people in our community as we can. But the advice we need from lawyers and PR agencies doesn't come for free.
All we ask is that you trust us to make the best judgement calls we can as we continue the fight for justice for all those affected and under the threat posed by current Scottish STL legislation.
In the meantime, do not stop working on your applications. It’s crucial that you are ready in time to submit them if the situation does not change in the next eight weeks.
The best thing you can do to help is spread the word on social media, especially Twitter which all politicians and media watch. Follow us and and take it from there. Tagging politicians and is also good. The tide is definitely turning on Twitter and there is a real sense of community and having each other’s backs.
Thank you and best wishes,
