Good farming property close to city

It was quietly on the market, but now auctioneer, Andrew Moore, wants to bring matters to a swift conclusion with this 32- acre property at Gortnaglough, Ballinhassig, Co Cork.

In a great location close to Cork City — and a short commute to CUH, CIT, UCC and other institutions locally, this is a large site, or a hobby farm sale, or just a land purchase, depending on a buyer’s perspective.

In good quality pasture, laid out in seven divisions, the property comes with valuable planning permission based on an old stone ruin, set in a wooded copse on the farm.

Top quality land, it’s ideal as an add-on for a local farmer, or could be purchased for horses, or such like, says Moore.

The planning permission is for a 2,000 square foot house, and this will have a huge attraction for non-locals looking to build on the outskirts of the city — if they’re not frightened off by new regulations — €55,000 has been mooted as the cost of new regulations in self-builds and one-offs.

And with callers to Joe Duffy’s Liveline ratcheting up the pressure on Environment Minister Phil Hogan, along with the RIAI and others, it might be that the measures will be ‘clarified’ rather than rescinded, as self-builders hope — but it’s certainly a live agricultural issue and one to which the addition of the farm lobby will give clout — even at the final hour.

¦ Meanwhile, the Gortnaglough auction goes forward at Oriel House on March 6 next, and the agent has a price of about €375,000 for the entire, which, going on an average of €10,000 per acre, gives good value for a site with full planning permission, he says. “It is not often that a good quality farm of this size, some 32 acres, so close to the city, comes to market.

The dif ficult-to-achieve planning permission for one house, brings additional merit and the new owner will have easily-worked lands and a gilt-edged investment to enjoy and pass on,” he says.

This is quite an unusual sale, in that it’s a pre-packed building opportunity, wrapped up in a hobby farm, which heavy-hitting PAYE contributors might find attractive as a long-term tax shield.

There has been good interest in the property, to date, says Moore and, with the rising tide, he expects keen interest from bidders, even if the new regulations will, according to one caller to Liveline, fundamentally change the right of rural people to build their own homes.

[e-mail]