Large, open spaces up on the mount

THE Belmont area of Rochestown in Cork has grown in fits and starts over the past 20 years.

The grounds around the Butler family’s home by Garyduff, the old residence Belmont House, have seen niche and medium to large-sized developments come on stream, from the older cul-de sac row of 1970s and ’80s serviced sites, called Inner Belmont, to recent 100-plus new house schemes.

Also in the area is the super-chic EyreCourt, with four very large red-brick Georgian-style homes built by Howard Holdings and now likely to be valued in the €1.5 million league, while that site’s vendor Garry Duffy built an even larger one-off home likely to be worth several million euro.