What a contrast there is now between the planning policies on rural housing in Northern Ireland and in the Republic. North of the Border, the authorities are seeking to stop the "bungalow blitz", while in the south - by direction of the Government - the planning system is meant to facilitate it. The new policy in the North, announced on March 16th, amounts to a blanket ban on new houses in the countryside, with only a handful of exceptions, whereas the current policy in the South seeks to cater for almost anyone who wants to build such a house, particularly in rural areas suffering population decline.
