The Gates offers family life on city’s edge in Lehenaghmore, Cork

THE suburbs and city services, as well as further badly-needed new homes, have come out to meet the Ruden Homes’ Matthew Hill development, on the hills south of Cork in recent years.

Lehenaghmore, Cork €550,000

Size: 191 sq m (2,060 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3

BER: C1

Back when started in the early 2000s, on the back of the Airport Hill at Lehenaghmore above Wilton and Togher, the big, brick-faced houses here in the section known as The Gates seemed rural: now, there’s a choice of bus routes servicing this hillside, where Ruden have continued to build and sell, right through the downturn.

The owners of No 24 have been here from day-one, and probably got an early pick of the sites ranged around a green, as the gardens here to the back are huge, stepped and tiered and professionally landscaped with retaining sleepers and stone walls plus a water feature, with a hill of farm land beyond.

Now, they are selling up and trading up from this already-large 2,060 sq ft five bed, and it goes on its first of several planned open viewings today at 1 pm with agent Johnny O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald.

He guides No 24 at €550,000, which is sort of the price level these four and five-beds sold new at in 2004, and prices rose after that to €800,000 at market peak.

Mr O’Flynn says this four-bed is nicely set within the Gates, and is in excellent order, inside and outside, with a good mix of accommodation over two levels. It has bedrooms (all doubles) at each of the four corners upstairs, and the front master bedroom is en suite with a dressing room.

Downstairs, it has a 26’ by 12’ living/dining room with fireplace, a family room also has a fireplace, and there’s a play room, plus utility, and there’s a tiled, black and white kitchen and dining room with garden access.

The back garden has a large terraced patio, raised beds and shrubs, garden shed, and feature water cascade: it’s a garden ready to come into spring surprises.

VERDICT: A good ‘un