As a location it is already somewhere that reminds you less of a setting for a Laurie Lee novel than one by John Updike or Philip Roth; complete with flat-bottomed boats that glide over the glassy surfaces of lakes fringed by lodges with decking that could be waiting for a cast of characters in Ralph Lauren polo shirts and 5th Avenue accessories.The Landings will eventually consist of 50 lakeside lodges, each with its own substantial decked area overlooking a lake. But owners will be banned from living there for more than 11 months in a year. The park covers almost 40 sq miles and includes 140 lakes that were originally old gravel workings now transformed into a verdant, watery playground. The Cotswolds might seem a strange location for a development of spectacular New England-style houses of natural cedar boards and white wood surrounds, all with idyllic waterfront locations, but then the water park where they are going up is not a typical Cotswolds location. It is a ludicrous planning stipulation, which is, in effect, saying places are only available to rich second-homers,” he adds.But several new schemes unveiled this summer appear to be thriving, with demand high and many happy to buy off-plan before the developments are finished.You can see why buyers would be tempted by Watermark Club’s The Landings, in South Cerney, near Cirencester. “The fact that it is closed for four weeks in January and February is not relevant – because they would always be away in the sun at that time.”Not all in the property business agree. “It sounds fine in a healthy market but what happens when things tighten up?” asks Stephen Noble of estate agents Stephen Noble-Lane Fox, in Christchurch.

“In a stickier market, buyers will always prefer a house you can live in all year round, over one you have to get out of periodically. Planning restrictions – and a desire on the part of developers to foster up-market enclaves composed exclusively of second-home owners – are driving the trend. Buying a house, which you are not allowed to live in for some of the year might not appeal to everyone. But more and more holiday houses with restrictions on how much time you can spend in them are coming on to the market this year.

Cutting back on alcohol, salt and caffeine and practising relaxation may also help to lower blood pressure. Stopping smoking does not reduce blood pressure but is important to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.* If lifestyle changes do not work, drug treatment should be offered to those with a significantly increased risk of heart disease, based on blood and urine tests and family history.* People with persistently high blood pressure of 160/100 mmHg or more should automatically be offered drug treatment.* Drug treatment should begin with a diuretic, which increases urine production, and further drugs such as beta-blockers, calcium channnel blockers and ACE inhibitors should be added as necessary until the target blood pressure is reached.* The drugs are off patent, available in cheap, generic form and are safe with few side effects.. A national audit of stroke treatment found that although the care of patients was improving, it still fell short of the care given to heart patients.THE GUIDELINES* People with at least three blood pressure readings above 140/90 mmHg, taken on separate occasions, should be offered advice on how to reduce it by changing their lifestyle, and assessed for their risk of heart disease.* This may involve changes to the diet, reducing weight and increasing exercise. Most are quite keen to avoid that and want to find out what they can do [about changing their lifestyle].”The guidelines would lead to more people taking more drugs, she said. “There are still a lot of people out there taking one or two drugs who are not very well controlled They need three or four drugs,” she said.