Spacious homes in fast-growing commuter town

Kingscroft Developments is launching its latest new homes scheme this weekend in Athboy, Co Meath. Selling agent Allen & Townsend will be opening showhouses today for 35 four and five-bedroom detached houses on the fringe of this medium-sized country town.

Prices start at €285,000 for four-bedroom houses of 121 sq m (1,300 sq ft). Four-bed houses with 126 sq m (1,359 sq ft) of space cost from €295,00, while larger four-bed houses of 155 sq m (1,666 sq ft) are priced from €310,000. Five-bedroom detached houses of 179 sq m (1,929 sq ft) are from €345,000.

Priory Gate is a small development of 61 houses, 10 of which have been pre-sold. Phase one will be completed from April onwards and the entire site will be finished by the end of this year, according to the selling agent.

The location is off the Delvin Road, a short walk from the centre of town. Navan, with its busy commercial centre and family amenities, is a few miles away.

There are three types of four-bedroom house, each with slightly different layouts. All three have interconnecting sitting and diningrooms and good-sized eat-in kitchens. In one house type, the sittingroom is narrower and a second family sittingroom has been added. While all houses include an en suite shower off the main bedroom, this larger house includes a walk-in dressingroom.

Five-bedroom detached houses are spacious, with separate sitting and dining rooms, a big kitchen and a study off the front hall. Upstairs, the main bedroom has an en suite and walk-in wardrobe off the main bedroom. Bedroom two also has an en suite.

The houses come with timber Shaker-style kitchen units and a full range of appliances. Wall tiling in the bathrooms is also included. Other standard features include patio doors to the back garden, hardwood double doors to the diningroom, ornate brass door handles, classic-style fireplaces, smoke detectors and built-in wardrobes.

Buyers so far have mostly been drawn from the Meath area with a few families moving out from the west Dublin suburbs. Developer Kingscroft has a strong track record in new homes building, with Brides Glen and Bunbury Gate in Swords and Mount Symon in Clonsilla among their best-known schemes.

Being detached houses, gardens at Priory Gate are a reasonable size, with fencing and seeded lawns supplied. Provision has been made for a couple of green open spaces at the centre of the development.