Turning a garden into a site

THERE’S gold in some gardens, and some grassy plots have already led to bumper harvests. Side gardens in the suburbs continue to turn to gold for some fortunate occupants, who might only have originally paid a few hundred pounds extra for the larger plots on which their homes stand.

Despite the housing slow-down, side gardens with planing for a new-build house can be worth from €100,000 to €250,000, or even more in the best locations.

A sale with options for buyers is No 47 Beechwood, a three-bed semi-d in Cork’s Ballinlough, with outline planning permission for a 1,600 sq ft detached house on its left side. Listed recently with agents ERA Downey McCarthy, it has an asking price of €525,000 for both house and side garden/site with OPP.