Planning Policy and Local Plan Advisory Group on Tuesday, 9 June 2026

Written representation in relation to agenda item 7, Non-Statutory Guidance Report

Dear Councillor,

Shockingly, the largest diversion of homes away from permanent residential use in York does not even appear in the housing challenge list.

Research highlighted by York’s MP identified more than 2,000 short-term lets in York in 2023. Many more have been added since. A significant proportion have simply removed homes from the permanent housing market.

Yet all the report asks is:

“How should the Local Plan balance the need for permanent housing with other uses such as student accommodation, short-term lets, and hotels?”

The fundamental flaw in the report is that it focuses almost entirely on how many new homes York needs to build while giving little attention to the continuing loss of homes from permanent occupation.

Despite the scale of the issue, the report provides no estimate of the number of short-term lets in York, no assessment of their impact on housing availability, no indication of recent growth and no explanation of how the issue will be monitored or addressed.

Until the continuing loss of homes to short-term visitor accommodation is properly understood and addressed, a significant proportion, if not all the benefit of new housing development will simply be negated.

Given the scale of the issue, it is extraordinary that short-term lets are not identified as the principal housing challenge facing the city, or at the very least one of the most significant, rather than a passing mention.

Yours sincerely,

Gwen Swinburn