Council orders businessman, 57, to stop renting out his £8,000-a-week luxury mansion to hen nights

A businessman has been ordered to stop renting out his luxury mansion for hen nights after furious neighbours complained about noise.

Michael Cameron took bookings for up to 30 guests per night at his nine-bedroom home in Peeblesshire.

The high-end property in West Linton boasts a gym, hot tubs, cinema room, games room and also offers a private chauffeur service.

The 57-year-old specialised in hen party bookings but also accepted guests for birthdays and special events.

Party-goers uploaded pictures to social media showing their experiences at the nine-bedroom mansion, which is no longer allowed to host hen dos

Pictures uploaded to an unofficial Facebook page set up by revellers show them enjoying hot tubs and posing with giant inflatable penises.

Mr Cameron had accepted 35 bookings in 2017 with a maximum cost of £8,000 for a week’s booking.

But neighbours had contacted police and council officials to complain about noise coming from parties.

Photos on social media showed dolls displaying inflatable penises at the hen parties in West Linton

Scottish Borders Council investigated the claims and issued an enforcement notice ordering Mr Cameron to stop renting the house to guests.

He protested claiming he had been letting for at least 10 years without incident and has now appealed to the Scottish Government in a bid to have the order overturned. His lawyers have written to the government outlining his appeal.

They said: ‘The notice says that the use of the property for short-term visitor stays ‘is having a detrimental impact on residential amenity’.

Mr Cameron says that he has welcomed hen parties to the property for at least 10 years without incident 

‘Mr Cameron had been made aware of neighbour complaints and so reasonably assumed that if he addressed the causes of activities giving rise to those complaints he could reassure the council he was taking the matter seriously and minimising the impact of the behaviour complained of.’

They added: ‘He was therefore surprised to receive the notice when he knew that he was already actively engaging with the council and taking all reasonable measures to deal with the issues raised by those who were complaining.’

Mr Cameron said he had made plans to remove two hot tubs from the rear of the house and move a barbecue area in a bid to combat disturbance.

He also said he would install a night ‘duty officer’ to help monitor noise levels and provide concerned neighbours with a direct contact line to voice complaints. The house website features several reviews from guests.

One said: ‘We booked Linton Lodge for its location to Edinburgh and the fact it slept so many. It looked amazing on photos but they cannot get across the true wow factor you get when you see this house for real.

‘We were lucky with the weather all weekend and spent most of our time in the hot tubs (which are fantastic) or on the front lawn.

‘We played lawn games through the day, hired a local spa company to give people treatments in the gym, had a movie night..the list is endless. This house made a hen party into a trip I will never forget. It was just perfect.’

The council had written to Mr Cameron outlining their position. They said: ‘The regular turnover of visitors, combined with guests having access to outside entertainment areas is having a detrimental impact on neighbouring residential amenity.

‘In terms of the character of the property, the house while having nine bedrooms is advertised as being able to accommodate 15-30 guests, with the master bedroom being advertised with six double beds along with another of the bedrooms being advertised as having four double beds, which is not normally found in a residential property.

‘The characteristic of the use, where guests are generally visiting for a short period of time, and the numbers of guests being accommodated, has led to an increase in late night activity and disturbance within the area, to the detriment of the neighbouring residential amenity.

‘As stated above the use is having a detrimental impact on residential amenity, with regular reports of late night disturbances being made to various council departments, including Environmental health and the Anti-social behaviour team as well numerous complaints to Police Scotland.

‘Taking cognisance of the above, a material change of use of the property from a dwelling house providing residential accommodation to a short stay commercial visitor accommodation has occurred.’

Police Scotland confirmed they had been called to the property in the summer. A  decision will be issued at a later date.