Controls on holiday lets in East Neuk 'ghost towns' considered
Around one-in-five properties in some villages on the East Neuk are for short-term let
Controls on the proliferation of Airbnb-style holiday accomodation on the East Neuk in Fife are being considered amid warnings that the most popular spots are being turned into “ghost towns”.
Members of Fife Council’s cabinet committee are to look into the use of short-term let control areas (STLCA) in the East Neuk where there have been longstanding concerns that the rise in the number of short-term let accommodation is having a negative impact.
Controls on the number of holiday lets in St Andrews are also being considered.
Officials at the council recommended that a local authority-wide STLCA be rejected on the basis that there was “limited evidence” that such a step would solve issues such as a lack of affordable housing.
But at a meeting of the committee on Thursday, councillors agreed to bring forward a strategy underpinning the potential roll-out of targeted control areas.
In some of the local authority’s most picturesque villages, around one in five properties are STL, fuelling fears for the long-term effect on local communities and the availability of long-term housing.
Some people taking part in a survey launched by the council said they were the only permanent residents in their street, while others said their area was “hollowed out” during the winter.
Amid such concerns, over half of residents who responded to the public consultation said they would support the introduction of a short term let control area (STLCA) similar to the scheme introduced in Edinburgh in 2022.
In a sign of the growing demand for STL accommodation in the region, research by the council found that the number of people staying in non-serviced paid accommodation shot up from around 594,000 a year in 2023 to 726,000 in 2024.
As of August 2025, there were 2,267 STL properties across Fife, with the highest cluster found in St Andrews (596), Anstruther and Cellardyke (172), and Elie and Earlsferry (163), according to the council’s research.
The highest overall prevalence of STL at a settlement level is Elie and Earlsferry where 21 per cent of all tenure types are STLs, followed by Peat Inn (13 per cent), Kilrenny and Kingsbarns (both 10 per cent) and St Andrews, Pittenweem, Crail, and Anstruther and Cellardyke, all of which had a rate of eight per cent.
Of the 735 responses as part of a public consultation into the issue, more than half (56 per cent) of residents said the level of STLs in their area was either “high” or “very high,” with six out of ten people of the view that such properties had affected their sense of community or quality of life.
Many of those who responded expressed concern about the reduced availability of long term housing as a result of STLs, describing “community erosion” and a situation which left many settlements becoming “seasonal ghost towns.” Others cited parking and traffic congestion and anti-social behaviour as other negative factors.
However, the report also noted that STLs had an economic benefit of £381 million across Fife and north east Fife, accounting for approximately 5,440 jobs in the sector.
While over half (53 per cent) of those residents to take part in the consultation said STLs benefitted tourism, a greater proportion - some 59 per cent - supported the principle that their area should be designated as a STLCA, which would have to be ratified by Scottish ministers. Nearly 30 per cent of respondents opposed the introduction of such a control area, with 11 per cent stating that they were unsure, had no opinion, or preferred not to say.
A report prepared for the meeting by Alastair Hamilton, the council’s planning services manager, pointed out that as an STLCA can only influence the numbers of new STLs through the submission of planning applications, pre-existing licensed premises would not be affected, nor would STLs with other uses such as second homes. He said that the introduction of a control zone would therefore only have a “very minimal effect” on the number of properties being made available or retained on the open market to increase the numbers of residential accommodation.
Urging councillors not to pursue a local authority wide control area, he wrote: “It would not significantly address demand and housing need or result in many more houses coming forward for affordable means. A STLCA could only be applied to a proposed future change and does not apply retrospectively.”
He added: “In areas where the numbers of STLs are greatest, there are other types of properties which have a greater impact on the loss of housing stock - second homes and HMOs).”
But Lib Dem councillor, James Calder, who tabled an amendment proposing STLCAs focused specifically in East Neuk and St Andrews, said there was a clear need to address the number of STLs in certain areas.
“We’ve clearly had a very significant response from residents in those areas, and quite clearly the majority will be backing having some kind of SLTCA,” Mr Calder said. “It’s important we take into account what was said in this consultation - we need to consider what has been said by the residents in the areas affected.”
He added: “We’ve got quite a large number of communities where there is a very significant number of short term lets - Elie and Earlferry in particular. It’s turning some of these villages and towns into effectively ghost towns, and it’s affecting facilities such as schools.”
Such concerns have been echoed by local Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie, who said that bringing in the control areas in the East Neuk and St Andrews would “provide a degree of control” over any more properties being converted into STLs.
SNP councillor John Beare told the meeting: “We now have a situation where as I understand it, there is at least one community in Fife where more than 60 per cent of the residential accommodation is either STL or holiday let - that clearly has an implication for the services we are able to provide and for residents.”
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