Bedford Borough needs a robust plan in place regarding short-term lets in light of Universal demand
Bedford Borough is welcoming the most exciting development in its recent history, with the arrival of Universal. But at the Universal Overview and Scrutiny Committee (5th October) Cllr Henry Vann questioned the Council’s readiness to respond to the demand for short-term lets in the local area, and called on the Council to look at what other local authorities in a similar situation have done.
Cllr Vann commented,
“An Article 4 direction is one of the regulatory regimes that a Council can use to protect an area from an excessive amount of short-term lets.
I am reassured that the Council has a specific working group on housing that will report to the next meeting of the Council’s Universal committee, but we need to make sure that appropriate data is being collected now. There is more urgency needed on this.
A huge weight of evidence is needed within strict time scales in order for an Article 4 direction to be introduced, and Bedford Borough needs to be ready.”