Ballincollig bypass increases site values by as much as €100,000

THE Ballincollig by-pass has driven prices for house sites between Ballincollig and Macroom upwards by as much as €100,000 in the past year.

Sites that were €80,000 a year or so ago can now sell for €180,000 and right up to €200,000, says Richard Godsil of Fitzgeralds auctioneers in Macroom.

Macroom itself is a town now set for a commercial take-off with Dunnes, Lidl and Aldi all scrambling for an opening, an eco-business park is being developed and other high-tech links are also coming to match the housing surge as the town plays catch-up.

However, Macroom will have to be by-passed (a northern by-pass is in the wings) before the property price inflation continues its march north-westwards beyond it traffic constrictions, Mr Godsil adds.

He has a special 1.5 acre site west of the town right now for sale, which will appeal to a cohort of buyers looking for a special site steeped in nature and natural features, for an imaginative home.

Set 400 metres off the N22 to Killarney by Rahoonagh West, Ballymakeera, the handsomely rugged site has portions sheltered by tall rock faces, and ringed with copses of trees and free-flowering gorse.

“There’s almost a stadium feel to it, it is level but not dark,” notes Mr Godsil of the site with its natural amphitheatre feel from the 30’ high rock faces. With a €150,000 price guide, it has outline planning permission for a single storey dwelling, granted in 2002 - but for those brave enough to re-enter the planning fray, it is a site for a spectacular house, perhaps in timber and with eco-build features.

There’s a classical trout river, with rocks, falls, pools and gravel beds nearby. A tributary of the Sullane, its surrounds feature gorse, bracken and heather, and a stand of silver birch trees stand ten-deep at the entrance perimeter.

The hinterland (a Gaeltacht area) is a nature lover and walker’s paradise, 35 miles from Cork city and 20 miles from Killarney.