Ever wondered what would happen if we stopped granting one-off houses?

Here's what's happened in NI since regs have become much tougher ...

Prices for rural housing sites have more than doubled in the 10-months since the introduction of controversial legislation aimed at tackling ‘bungalow blight’. Draft planning policy statement 14, more commonly known as PPS14, brought in tough restrictions on development in rural areas, effectively ending the rise in single rural dwellings. But with green field spaces becoming ever more valuable, property developers and desperate would-be homeowners are competing to snap up the few sites to have been granted planning permission.

In the 10 months since the new planning rules were introduced, prices for rural sites have rocketed, with a majority more than doubling in value. Half-acre sites in Tyrone which were valued at £100,000 just months ago are already being sold for prices in excess of £200,000, and the pattern is repeated in almost every rural community from Fermanagh to north Antrim.

Although PPS14 was generally welcomed by environmental groups, it has been heavily criticised by politicians across the political spectrum for damaging rural communities. Newry and Mourne is one of the areas worst hit by the increase in greenfield site prices. The district is within easy commuting distance to both Dublin and Belfast and sites are proving to be a lucrative investment for property speculators who were fortunate enough to gain planning permission before the new rules came into force.

Estate agent Martin Bradley, who works in the Warrenpoint area, said the new planning legislation has pushed land values “through the roof”. “Prices have definitely doubled,” he said. “I had one particular site that was on the market for £72,500 about 18 months ago. It went on the market again recently and sold for £180,000. It was just a single one-off site, around half an acre. It’s all to do with PPS14 – people are saying this will be our last chance to be a rural dweller.”

Although the boom in land values is good news for many developers, first-time buyers hoping to set up home in rural areas are being pushed out of the market.
Mr Bradley said he fears prices will increase further as sites become more scarce, leading to a drop in rural populations. “The days of a young fella trying to get a field off his father and building a three-bedroom house are long gone,” he said. “The inevitable consequences of this is falling populations in rural schools and the rural way of life being decimated.”

And he claims the problem is exacerbated by a reduction in the amount of land available for development. “If you take in Mayobridge and Hilltown the Planning Service have reduced the amount of land available in rural areas,” he said. “They will say they haven’t but in real terms there is less land than there was 20 years ago.”