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Orkney Islands Council STL Licences: Guidance

Annex C

Licences for Short-term Lets – Floor Plans

Scottish Government Guidance advises that in order for licensing authorities and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to undertake an assessment of the maximum number of guests that can be accommodated safely, it is desirable for licensing authorities to ask applicants to submit (as part of their application) floor plan(s) for their premises indicating certain information.

Applications for licences, including temporary licences, must therefore be accompanied by floor plans in accordance with the requirements below. These should be provided electronically where possible, including via email. Three (3) coloured printouts to scale must be provided when requested.

Floor plans must show the following:

  • the extent of the boundary of the building and the external and internal walls of the premises;
  • the location and names of any streets surrounding the building from which guests have access to the premises;
  • the location and width of each point of access to and egress from the premises;
  • the location and width of any other escape routes from the premises;
  • the location of any equipment used for the detection or warning of fire or smoke or carbon monoxide or for fighting fires;
  • the location of any steps, stairs, elevators or lifts in the premises;
  • any accommodation intended for guests with mobility impairment;
  • the number of rooms intended for sleeping; and
  • the maximum occupancy capacity of the building (excluding children under 10 years old).

A floor plan may include a legend through which the matters narrated above may be sufficiently illustrated by the use of symbols on the plan.

Floor plans should preferably be in the following format:

  • All applications: premises drawings, possibly professional prepared, at a scale of 1:100 and a location plan at a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500 for rural locations (see further below). Please note that these scales are not prescriptive and are for guidance only.
  • Complex applications, identified by the Licensing Team in consultation with local authority officers: professionally prepared premises drawings at a scale of 1:50.

For all applications which are not identified as complex applications, floor plans need not necessarily be professionally prepared. However, they must meet the requirements denoted by the 9 bullet points listed above. If you are unsure whether your plan meets the requirements, please e-mail your plan to shortletslicensing@orkney.gov.uk and advice will be provided.

Plans used for other purposes, such as planning applications, may be suitable for STL licensing purposes as long as they are up-to-date and contain all the required information. Please bear in mind, however, that plans must be submitted by the applicant with their STL licence application form.

The Council cannot retrieve plans used for other purposes and pass these between departments; it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the plans accompanying a STL licence application are accurate, up-to-date and contain all the required information.

Version: 2022-08-24.

Updated: 2022-10-05.

Updated: 2023-03-02 – to show means of detection or warning of carbon monoxide.

Updated: 2023-06-30 – to advise that suggested scales are not prescriptive and are for guidance only.