House of the Week: €625k Beaumont home comes with planning permission to extend

This three-bed semi-d on Cork's Woodvale Road has already been nicely renovated but new owners could opt to almost double the size of this house

87 Woodvale Road, Beaumont, Cork

Beaumont, Cork City
€625,000
Size	99sq m (1,066sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

Hot off the presses from the Central Bank this week is the news that it now takes an average of four years to build a house. Would you be bothered? Those in the industry (Michael O’Flynn) say it’s getting to the site that takes time, not the build itself. A sluggish planning system was one area under scrutiny by housing pundits.

Good news then for the successful buyers of 87 Woodvale Rd if their interest in it is tied to a recent grant of planning permission to almost double the house size. At least the planning bit is out of the way. The door is closed on the palaver that can arise around objections and everyone getting het up.

The buyer will inherit the planning grant which clears the way to demolish an existing single storey rear extension, and to also plough ahead with building a new two-storey block to the side and a new single storey extension to the rear. If you do follow through — bank balance permitting — the house you end up with will increase in size from the current 99sq m to 188sq m. (You’ll see a similar size increase just over the garden wall.)

It would be easy to get carried away, but of course all of this is budget dependent. The Beaumont home is already the subject of competitive bidding. On day one (a week ago), an offer came in just above the €625,000 guide price. At time of writing (six days in) the highest bid was at €675,000. It’s all to play for.

If you love the location (who doesn’t?) but can’t contemplate extending, the good news is three-bed No 87 Woodvale is already a very good house that will be perfectly adequate for many buyers without any need to tinker (or jackhammer) around the edges.

Previous work done to the rear made the kitchen and dining open plan and sliding glass doors lead to a generous back garden where the owners created a sort of multi-purpose sitting out/kids play area, all nicely enclosed by mature hedgerows. They prettied up the front lawn and driveway too and it’s all very well presented.

No 87 is a child of the 1960s, albeit its combi boiler and B3 energy rating (green mortgage rates?) suggest otherwise. Its owners — who bought it in 2019 for €370,000, according to the Property Price Register — have carefully minded original features, sanding and varnishing original timber floors in the hall and living room, while adding stylish herringbone waterproof LVT flooring in the kitchen/dining area. Bathrooms and bedrooms are in good nick.

Selling No 87 is Seán McCarthy of ERA Downey McCarthy and he’s seeing interest across the spectrum: “We’ve had lots of viewings and we’re getting everyone really: first-time buyers, traders-up, relocators from Dublin and abroad.”

The location is key, he says, with schools, public transport, retail, sports facilities and hospitality outlets (in nearby Ballintemple and Blackrock village) all within walking distance, not to mention recreational amenities such as the Marina and adjoining parkland and greenway. Woodvale Rd itself is a leafy, settled residential area and doesn’t overlook the main road running through Beaumont.

The current owners are staying local, just moving to a larger home. Two near neighbours sold their properties last year: No 77, which was bigger, had a granny flat and needed modernisation, changed hands for €700,000, while No 79, an extended five-bed, sold for €655,000. Earlier this year, three-bed semi-d No 49 went for €487,000.

VERDICT: Hard to go wrong in Beaumont. Planning hurdle cleared for wanna-be extenders. A good house as is. Young families likely to vie with downsizers looking for a walk-in property where all the daily essentials are close to hand.