Printed minutes
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 December 2025
Back to Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee — 12 December 2025 and its agenda
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MINUTES of MEETING of PLANNING, PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND LICENSING COMMITTEE held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on FRIDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2025 Present: Councillor Gordon Blair (Chair) Councillor John Armour Councillor Jan Brown Councillor Audrey Forrest Councillor Kieron Green Councillor Amanda Hampsey Councillor Graham Hardie Councillor Fiona Howard Councillor Andrew Kain Councillor Dougie Philand Attending: Alida Lily Acherman, Licensing Standards Officer Stuart McLean, Committee Manager David Walker, Solicitor Dr Chukwuna Okekeogbu, Applicant 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Daniel Hampsey, Mark Irvine, Paul Donald Kennedy and Peter Wallace. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 3. CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982, THE CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982 (LICENSING OF SHORT-TERM LETS) ORDER 2022: APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF A SHORT-TERM LET LICENCE (IFEA LIMITED, OBAN) The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. In line with recent legislation for Civic Government Hearings, the parties (and any representatives) were given the options for participating in the meeting today. The options available were by video call, by audio call or by written submission. For this hearing the Applicant opted to proceed by way of video call and Dr Chukwuma Okekeogbu joined the meeting by MS Teams. It was noted that the three Objectors were not in attendance. The Chair invited the Licensing Standards Officer to speak to the terms of the report. Thereafter the procedure set out in Appendix 7 of the report was followed and the Chair invited the Applicant to speak in support for their application. APPLICANT The applicant, Dr Okekeogbu advised that IFEA Ltd had been established when he moved to Oban. In that time 5 properties had been purchased for long term let in Oban, the purchase of 4 John Anderson House was his first short term let property. On purchasing 4 John Anderson House Dr Okekeogbu confirmed that he had spoken to the neighbours of block 1 advising them of his intention of letting the property on a short-term basis and addressed the concerns of the three objectors with them. Dr Okekeogbu, stated that the
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property would be maintained to a high standard, a noise monitoring device would be fitted within the flat and highlighted that the flat has a dedicated parking space with adjacent on street parking also available. The applicant also confirmed that he was willing to partake in the maintenance of the common areas. QUESTIONS FROM OBJECTORS There were no objectors present at the meeting and members of the Committee were directed to the written objections within the Agenda Pack. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS There were no questions from the Members. SUMMING UP Applicant Dr Okekeogbu confirmed that he intends to use 4 John Anderson House as a short-term let, will run and manage the property to a high standard and will respect everybody. When asked, the applicant confirmed that he had received a fair hearing. DEBATE Councillor Hardie stated he was suitably impressed with the applicant and the application and was content to approve the application. Councillor Forest stated that given what can be considered regarding policies, she had no objections and would be happy to approve the application. Councillor Kain advised that he could not support the application as the policy was not consistent with other Council policies and that the conditions outlined in paragraph 6.1 of the report were vague and unachievable. Councillor Green stated that he was sympathetic with the objectors in that some properties within John Anderson House had changed from residential to short-term lets. Councillor Green added that the conditions on the licence would alleviate concerns raised and could see no reason but to approve the application. Councillor Brown advised that she was sympathetic with Councillor Kain’s position, that she appreciated the work carried out by the applicant and was happy to approve the application. Councillor Howard echoed Councillor Kain’s opinion adding that on the basis of the policy could see no reason not to approve the application. Councillor Blair confirmed he would support the officer’s recommendation to approve the application as the applicant has experience of managing similar properties. Councillor Blair added that concerns around noise can be managed via the conditions of the licence. DECISION
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The Committee agreed to grant the Short-Term Licence to Dr Chukwuma Okekeogbu subject to the inclusion of additional conditions set out in the report in respect of anti-social behaviour, privacy and security, littering and waste disposal and damage to property and noted that Applicant would receive written confirmation of this within 7 days. (Reference: Report by Regulatory Services and Building Standards Manager, submitted)