Homes First - Parliamentary Debate
Andy Wightman MSP launched the Homes First campaign this week by leading a debate in The Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 7 November with the following motion (S5M-08370):
That the Parliament notes what it understands as the anxiety being expressed by communities over the rapid growth in entire homes being let for short-term occupancy across urban and rural Scotland and the view that this should not be at the expense of people in housing need nor compromise the peaceful enjoyment of people’s homes; believes that this issue is long-standing in parts of the Highlands and the south-west and that this form of letting is now increasingly displacing residential communities in Edinburgh and across Lothian; notes reports of distress being felt by residents, particularly in communal property in the centre of the capital; acknowledges the recently-launched Homes First campaign, and notes the calls for all parties to urgently bring forward planning, fiscal or regulatory measures to enable local government to provide effective controls over the change of use of residential property to short-term let property.
You can watch Andy’s speech here.
Read the Official Report of the debate here.
Read and share Andy’s Twitter commentary on the debate here.