Non-natives are to be prevented from building new one-off houses in many rural areas of North Tipperary.
A new county development plan, adopted unanimously by North Tipperary county councillors, prevents non-natives who have been living in the county for less than 10 years from building houses in the rural areas around the main towns of Nenagh, Thurles and Roscrea.
The same rule is also to apply in the countryside around Ballina and Newport, where populations have risen sharply in recent years as the towns become part of the commuter belt of Limerick city and Shannon.
The new controls, introduced in "pressure areas", have been justified as necessary to ensure sustainable development in the county.
From now on, the only people who will be able to build new homes in these areas will be natives to the locality or non-natives who have lived in these localities for a decade or more. Even then they will only be able to build on sites that are a maximum of five miles from where they now live or were raised.
The plan states that housing development in rural areas around the main towns, the Limerick commuter belt and in the area of the River Shannon's largest lake, Lough Derg, has led to an increase in environmental problems, with pollution being caused by septic tanks. It has also necessitated expensive investment in new infrastructure.
"To continue this trend would inevitably lead to a deterioration in the rural environment, would undermine the viability of some farm holdings, and would have a negative impact on North Tipperary as a place to live and as a tourist destination." The plan seeks to rid the county of any further ribbon development, only allowing a maximum of five houses with separate entrances to be built along any 250-metre stretch of roadway.
Instead, the plan promotes the development of small clusters of houses with a single access from roadways. North Tipperary County Council will be able to stipulate as part of its planning conditions that applicants must live permanently in a new rural house for a minimum of seven years.
Less strict rules will apply to non-natives and others who wish to build in areas of the county that have experienced depopulation.