LOCAL leaders have praised a government review into the impact of short-term holiday lets in towns and villages which have become tourist hotspots.

A Dorset Councillor and the MP for West Dorset have hailed the launch of a new Government investigation to support communities affected by high numbers of holiday accommodation, such as Lyme Regis.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says the rise in the use of online platforms for short-term letting has enabled people to make money from renting out spare rooms and properties, but that there can be an impact on housing supply and prices in these areas.

It adds that fears have been raised about rising anti-social behaviour including noise, waste and drunken behaviour, as well as concerns about lower protections for guests caused by negligence of health and safety regulations.

Lyme Regis Town Councillor and Dorset Councillor for the Lyme & Charmouth ward, Belinda Bawden, admitted that she herself had been an Air BnB host and that it was a complex issue, but maintained that too many properties in the area are 'snapped up' by investors forcing the town's residents to look elsewhere when buying.

Cllr Bawden said: "I was a Census Team Leader last year for East Devon and was astonished at the spread of holiday lets and second homes, with Air BnBs within people’s homes adding even more holiday accommodation which will largely go unrecorded in official statistics. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the proportion of homes being used by visitors wasn’t as high as 40 per cent or 50 per cent in some places.

"The issue is complex because so many local businesses depend on tourism and holiday accommodation but, of course, it means affordable accommodation for local people is very much more difficult. Wages are much lower in Dorset than the national average and lower in Lyme Regis than the Dorset average yet our rents and house prices are extremely high. Those of us on limited incomes can benefit from the area’s popularity by hosting visitors through Air BnB, which is something I’ve done myself.

"However, too many houses are snapped up by investors intent on running them as holiday rental business, forcing our own people to look elsewhere. I do think there should be higher charges of council tax and business rates on these businesses and we should consider restrictions on the number of houses being sold for this purpose.

"In general visitors are delightful and the area welcomes them with open arms but it’s true there have been complaints from residents in both Lyme Regis and Charmouth about antisocial behaviour from larger holiday lets, including thoughtless car parking, waste disposal and late-night noise.

"I look forward to the review and to be able to discuss a range of proposed solutions."

Airbnb recently announced that it was permanently banning parties and events at homes listed on its website worldwide

A home in the affluent Dorset neighbourhood of Sandbanks estimated to be worth £2 million was trashed in March last year when it was used for a party attended by around 60 people after being booked on Airbnb by a couple for a two-night break.

MP for West Dorset Chris Loder said: “This follows on from my campaign to lobby the Chancellor to clamp down on tax loopholes for second homes and holiday lets, after which the Government announced that from April next year, second home owners will have to pay council tax if they are not genuine holiday lets. This is an opportunity for a cost/benefit analysis of the effect that full-time Airbnb’s are having on local communities. This also has potential to open the door for measures to help local families better afford to live in their own areas.”

Airbnb, who said in a 2018 report that a typical UK host on its platform earns an average of £3,100 a year, has also found that 72 per cent of people said the environmental benefits of home sharing played a role in them using the platform for their travel plans.