Originally Posted by Conor74
That's standard enough in a lot of places, and was seen as a way of reducing the proliferation of holiday homes that lie vacant for most of the year and do nothing for a rural community. It is now difficult to get planning in many rural areas, they want people to buy in or near towns and villages. So it is difficult to get land outside a town or village and subsequently obtain planning. It is easier for locals, but even they usuallly face a condition that they have to reside in the property for the first 5 or 7 years after construction, so they cannot sell a site but actually have to build and live in the house.