Highland Ward 20 Four Months On: Have the Refused Applications Come Back?

In short: The disapplication of Highland's four-bedroom rule in Ward 20 opened a real door in May. The question this piece addresses is a practical one: four months on, has the door stayed open, and what does that mean for operators still deciding whether to walk through it?

In May, we wrote about Highland Council's decision to disapply the non-statutory "four-bedroom rule" that had blocked planning permission for smaller short-term lets in the Badenoch and Strathspey control area. Operators previously refused on that basis suddenly had a route back in.

Four months on, we take stock of what has actually happened and what it means for operators who have not yet acted.

The pattern we are seeing

The pattern is, on the whole, positive - with important caveats.

Where applications have been resubmitted on the strength of the disapplied rule, and where the applicant has been able to demonstrate that no other material planning objection applies (parking, amenity, noise), determinations have generally been favourable.

We are aware of several determinations in Ward 20 that have gone in operators' favour on this basis. Those determinations are, individually, unremarkable - they simply confirm what the disapplication of the rule was always likely to mean. Collectively, however, they establish a pattern that operators still on the fence should note.

The caveats

Two caveats stand out.

First, the disapplication of the four-bedroom rule does not mean applications are being waved through. Every application still needs to stand on its own planning merits. Where an applicant has assumed the disapplication does the work for them and has not addressed the other planning considerations properly, we have seen refusals.

Second, the Council remains under significant political pressure on housing supply. Whilst the non-statutory rule has been disapplied, the broader posture of the authority towards short-term let use in the control area is unlikely to soften. Applications should therefore be framed carefully, with attention to how the proposal sits against the Council's wider policy narrative on housing.

The upcoming Ward 20 consultation outcome

Highland Council's separate consultation on two further control areas is at the stage of report-writing. Whichever way that decision goes, it will have implications for operators in the areas concerned - and, indirectly, for the political weather in Ward 20 itself. We will publish an update once the Council's determination is issued.

What operators should do

If you operate in Ward 20 and were previously refused, the practical position remains as we set out in May: the basis for that refusal likely no longer stands, and it is worth revisiting.

If you operate elsewhere in Highland - or indeed in any area where a control area is currently under consideration - the fact that Highland was prepared, on advice, to disapply a policy it had been applying for some time is a useful data point. It suggests that non-statutory policies applied to short-term let applications are not always as robust as the councils applying them present them to be. Where such a policy has been applied against you, it is worth asking whether it stands up to legal scrutiny.

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Ross Armstrong Head of Professional Services, STL Solutions