Eric - neither would I, the ink comes off!!

If I wanted to move back to the village I was born in, I'd have to wait on the council housing list for 4 years (low priority) or win the lottery. My mother's birthplace, grandfathers' farmhouse (just the house, not the 150 acres that were attached), no central heating, no proper bathroom (hot and cold taps over a moveable tub, emptied by bailing it out into the sink), 30 years ago was sold for £116,000 and would probably go for £750,000 now. If I could afford it, I would have to prove I had the right to live in the village (which luckily I can, aunt & cousins still there, document proof we've been there since 1814), but I'd still have to take my chances with the rest on the waiting list for housing.

I can see the logic in restricting sales, it means you get a full time, multi-aged community, with a sense of continuity. A village infrastructure evolves and facilities improve. In London, we are noticing young families move out to better conditions, leaving elderly people behind. Their social circle is, perforce, shrinking. Small local shops and markets are being forced out by huge supermarket chains and 'out of centre' shopping parks, so they have diffuculty in getting basic supplies. The more local amenities disappear, the more people move away to better conditions elsewhere. Soon we are left with an area with no amenities and a migratory population who are only there a part of the time.

Trouble is, the most logical answer to a problem is usually the one that gets you labelled a racist.

LTS