This is the subject that pushed me into starting this blog. A guy I visited owns a fairly large plot of land and has built many large shed type structures to live in; He's got a caravan and several old cars. His general philosophy is being eco-friendly' (and there are certainy some elements I admired), but the general impression on me was more of a rubbish tip. I wouldn't want to live next door! My thoughts below are also applicable to travellers and others who wish to ignore planning rules.
Firstly, nobody actually owns land. Might seem strange as a statement, but it's only through our social systems and laws that individuals can purchase rights over any property, including land. So any rights you may have by purchasing land are within the framework of the society that let you buy in the first place. A fox certainly isn't going to recognise your 'right of ownership' because they're not part of human society. If you simply take possession of land without purchasing, then you're definitely acting outside society's rules.
In an ideal world there would be plenty of any commodity, including land, so it would either be cheap to buy, or there would be spare land for the taking. This country (UK) is so densely populated that land is in short supply - so much so that society has put in place special rules as to what you can do with the land you may purchase. There are also specific procedures to change the uses land may be put to.
The price of land reflects the shortage, and the use or potential use is also reflected in the price. Building land where you may live is in very short supply and commands very high prices. This tempts many to buy land which is reserved for agriculture or to buffer towns (green belt) and try to build homes there. If this is permitted certain areas of the country will become uninterrupted swathes of dense buildings, including areas of perhaps poor quality buildings not conforming to building regulations. National Parks and other desirable areas may become dotted with uncontrolled residences. Some may see this as OK, and if there was plenty of room, or it could be guaranteed the scale of the problem would be small, I'd agree - but I think if a few are allowed to build like this, many more would follow, citing the few as a precedent.
The ideal solution is that every individual wanting to build or live on land should recognise that they only hold that land by courtesy of our rules and laws and must respect their responsibilities: They must apply for permission to do what they wish to in the proper way and abide by the community's decisions. They must not simply go ahead covertly and rely on lack of enforcement.
Some will argue that they do not wish to be bound by society's rules. That's a fine argument if they don't want to use what our society provides. No running water, electricity, transport infrastructure, NHS, education for their kids or DSS benefits may make them realise they do need to operate as part of society.
The big stick solution is one I will return to again in this blog. If people wilfully refuse to abide by the norms and rules of our society, they lose the rights they have acquired through being part of that society. In this case their right to the land would be either compulsorily purchased or simply confiscated and sold to a responsible landowner. Where land is illegally occupied, depriving the rightful owner of their rights, that is simply theft.
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