Spacious homes in pastures new

With new schemes in Dublin averaging 10 to 12 houses to the acre and even higher densities in the pipeline, the latest phase of the Luttrell Hall development at Dunboyne, Co Meath, offers plenty of open parkland for families moving in.

With only six houses to the acre, 34 four-bedroom semidetached and detached homes are being put on the market this weekend in the second phase of the scheme at prices of £145,000 for a semidetached unit and £180,000 for a detached home.

By the time the scheme is completed, there will be 130 houses on the site, which is bordered by green fields on the Summerhill Road leading out of the village. Selling agent Gerry Leahy is expecting interest in Luttrell Hall to come mainly from families upgrading to larger accommodation from within the immediate area and the west Dublin suburbs. Much of the attraction of the location of Luttrell Hall stems from the fact that Dunboyne is still very much a village, planted in the midst of stud farms and rolling Meath countryside.

Buyers will be drawn by the absence of a suburban sprawl and the prospect of living in the clean fresh air of Co Meath. The area is so rural that it is difficult to realise that the city centre is just 12 miles away and the M50 an even shorter drive.

The builders, Mycete Construction Ltd, have also handled Kingsbury and Beaufield in Maynooth, Willsbrook and Cluain Ri in Lucan, Lissen Hall, Gartan and Ballintrane Wood in Swords and Sadlier Hall and Garnett Hall in Dunboyne. The Luttrell Hall development was named after a local land-owning family and the houses bear the names of well-known clergymen from the area.

There is a no-nonsense look about the Luttrell Hall scheme. These are big solid houses with a minimum of frills and plenty of room for an expanding family. Two types of house, the Forde and the Kilmartin, are available in this second phase. Part brick to the front, both models have double-storey bay windows and front gardens bounded by a low brick wall.

The largest is the 1,340 sq ft Kilmartin, a four-bedroom detached house with an integral garage. The size qualifies the house for exemption from stamp duty and a first-time buyer's grant. The garage has been built to the same specification as the living accommodation and owners could convert this to a study or playroom, should extra living space be required in the future.

Entrance is by a porched front door with stained-glass panels to a hallway with a guest washroom big enough to accommodate coats and umbrellas. A livingroom with bay window has a period-style fireplace and oak doors with attractive stained glass panels opening to the diningroom. The diningroom has sliding glass doors to the back garden.

A big, square kitchen has a good range of cupboards and enough room to eat breakfast in. There is a laundry room off the kitchen with cupboards, a gas boiler and plumbing for a washing machine.

Upstairs, there is a wide landing, family bathroom and four bedrooms, two double and two single. The main bedroom has a wall of wardrobes and a large shower room en suite with good quality sanitary ware. The second bedroom also has ample wardrobe space and two further single rooms have built-in cupboards.

Standard features in both houses include a fireplace as in the showhouse, hardwood front and rear doors with a three-point locking system, generous built-in wardrobe space, walled gardens front and back and stylish finishing touches such as leaded stainedglass doors and quality bathroom fittings.

There is no garage with the semi-detached house, the Forde, but otherwise it is similar in size to the Kilmartin. There is a leaded front door, a hallway with large guest cloakroom and a livingroom with period-style fireplace, decorative coving and oak interconnecting doors with leaded glass panels. The diningroom has glass doors to the garden. In the kitchen, there is a good range of cupboards with space for a breakfast table and a laundry room off with cupboards.

The main bedroom is again a very large room with ample wardrobe space and a shower en suite. There is one other double and two single bedrooms, all with wardrobes, and a large family bathroom.

Another benefit of fewer houses to the acre is bigger than average gardens. These are walled front and back and are seeded by the builder. The detached houses have cobblelock driveways to the front as standard with an attractive curved lawn.