Keswick’s holiday let industry and absentee landlords have been told to start taking responsibility from residents on the wrong end of anti-social behaviour from tourists.
That was the call from Keswick Town Council after hearing how young families and residents in their 80s, are having to endure rowdiness, abuse, disturbances, street brawls and garden parties lasting for days.
Yet complainants say they face the runaround trying to get anyone to take responsibility and that the uncontrolled expansion of holiday lets into Keswick’s residential areas is becoming a major problem.
They say planners need to take the issue more seriously while Allerdale Borough Council does not have sufficient resources to react quickly enough to complaints of anti-social behaviour and police are too stretched to regard it as a priority.
The nightmare faced by residents from a “minority” of visitors was spelled out starkly by Keswick resident Jean Murray who told how 64 homes and flats in Wordsworth Street, at least 28 are officially holiday lets.
She said the number could even be as high as 36 — with the balance now tipping from residential to tourism.
The proliferation of holiday lets and second home owners looking for new income streams and the national park authority approving applications for B&Bs and guesthouses to be turned into single-use holiday lets for large groups was all causing “increasing problems,” Keswick councillors said.
She said: “Over the last three years — with one exception — every single house that’s been put up for sale on Wordsworth Street is now a holiday home. We are seeing increasing behaviour problems, increasing rowdiness, increasing disturbances.
“We have had to call the police several times for issues such as domestic violence, we have had police called to brawls in the street at one and two o’clock in the morning. I personally have had to knock on doors to ask people to please be respectful of the fact that this is a residential area and they may think it is ok partying until two o’clock in the morning in an Airbnb but they are living next door to some of my neighbours who are well into their eighties who can be doing without it.”
She added: “I no longer call the police. The last time I dialled 101 I hung up after 40 minutes because I didn’t get an answer. I’m not blaming the police. I think we have to find a better balance between residents and tourists.
“This is a tourist town — nobody is suggesting we shouldn’t have tourists — but we are not looking after our residents.
“We have absentee landlords who take no responsibility and we have agencies who let out properties and take no responsibility.
“It is making lives a misery — and that’s just in one street,” said Ms Murray.
The Reminder approached several holiday letting agencies but had not received any comment at the time of going to press.
Councillor Adam Paxon said there should be a map of holiday let owners so that they could be held accountable for “abhorrent behaviour” taking place on their premises.
“There must be rules in the terms and conditions of the letting arrangement by the letting agent – if something is damaged or broken there is. So how can it be that the police are called to that house and there is no accountability?”
“The planning system is not designed to deal with these sorts of issues but the licensing system is. It’s my view that we should be lobbying central government for a licensing scheme so there is a local cap on numbers and we can ensure that licenses are then only issued to a certain number of properties.”
Cllr Steve Harwood called it the problem “everyone knows exists but that no-one is doing anything about.”
He said the town council had no authority apart from recommending that certain holiday let applications be refused. It had explained the issue at length to planners at the Lake District National Park Authority, he said.
However, the LDNPA had no legal right to turn down a holiday let application on the grounds that some guests might cause residential disturbances. Such a decision would fail at appeal, the meeting heard.
Cllr Markus Campbell-Savours said the planning system was “not designed” to deal with the issues now being seen in Keswick.
He said: “We should be lobbying central government for a licensing scheme so there is a local cap on the number of holiday lets.”
Holiday let owners would then be quicker to address bad behaviour from guests if their license was on the line, he suggested.
Cllr Paul Titley said Keswick’s letting agencies had stood by for too long. “They seem to get away with it scot-free. The town’s full of them and that should be the first place you call. They should do something about it and they should be called out when they don’t.”
Cllr Tony Lywood agreed: “Each of the holiday let agencies should now liaise with the town council so all complaints can be directed through one body.”
He believes the system encourages second home owners to turn properties into holiday lets to avoid council tax and recoup thousands in small business rates relief.
At its meeting on Thursday, the council objected to three applications for new holiday lets. They opposed plans for Avondale, 20 Southey Street; Yew Tree House, 28 Eskin Street; and Hazelmere, Crosthwaite Road.