Regeneration — thanks to a bit of demolition

NOW you see them, now you don’t — these two adjoining bungalows pictured right are about to be flattened, and replaced by separate, detached brand new homes.

They’ll follow hot on the heels of something similar — but far more expensive, built next door on chic Crab Lane in Cork city’s suburbs.

Six years ago, a quarter acre site called the Paddocks here (at the Boreenmanna Road end of Crab Lane, which links to the Blackrock Road’s city end) was sold for over €800,000, and had a c3,500 sq ft big home placed on it.

Now, two adjoining but smaller sites, each with planning for smaller c2,200 sq ft new homes, are also set to be similarly transformed, albeit on more modest (and affordable) scales.

One, on the right hand side of the pair of currently joined cottages, is already inching towards a sale via Sherry FitzGerald now that the planning is in place, likely for a sub €300,000 sum.

And now the left-hand site is just now being put up for sale, ready to go/knock/build.

Estate agent Timothy Sullivan seeks offers around €350,000 for this 0.17 acre site, currently occupied by a private home, Atina.

Its owners synchronised their planning application for demolition and replacement with the property Greengates next door, which went sale agreed some time ago, pending a successful planning process just now clear through An Bord Pleanala.

“Give current building costs, a family could be looking at buying an attractive site on Crab Lane, and building a detached house on it, for a price around €600,000,” says Mr Sullivan.

Meanwhile, also in the Cork site frame for self-builders is a 0.22 acre site on Carr’s Hill, near Douglas village, with planning for five apartments likely to be supplanted by a fresh application for a single dwelling on it. Sherry FitzGerald seeks offers close to €220,000.

Or, how about going even bigger, for less money? Auctioneer Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald has a 7.5 acre site at Lower Farran, close to Ballincollig, new to market guiding €195,000.

“Sites in the area of a quarter acre or less are currently for sale seeking €150,000, here a buyer is getting a whole lot more land for the €195,000 AMV,” she says. It has local planning restrictions, however, meaning a purchaser must have a local housing need.