The sleepy village of Mornington on the southern side of the estuary in Drogheda is the setting for Dwyer Nolan's latest development of 72 three, four and five-bedroom houses which come with conservatories as standard. Forty-one houses will be released in the first phase of Mornington Park, with prices starting at £115,995 for the smallest three-bedroom semis, up to £225,000 for five-bedroom detached houses.
Selling agent Ross McParland expects that the unusually generous addition of a sun room as standard will be the principal attraction for buyers. Showhouses for all three house types will be on view from Saturday.
The Louth and east Meath coastline, with its empty beaches and good road network to the capital, is experiencing a new property boom as buyers move further out in search of a good standard of living at an affordable price. Builder Dwyer Nolan has completed a number of well-known schemes in the Dublin area in recent years, including The Maples at Clonskeagh; Westminster Park, Foxrock; and Esker Lawns at Lucan, Co Dublin.
Drogheda is under three miles from Mornington along the coast road and there is a regular train service to the city from nearby Laytown. To reach the site, turn right opposite the Europa Hotel on the Belfast Road, take the second road on the left and continue on towards Mornington. The scheme is on a slightly elevated site with views of the estuary. A belt of mature pines guards the entrance and the grounds are beautifully landscaped.
Apart from the main "spine" road through the small development, the houses are set in cul-de-sacs with central open spaces. There will be 26 three-bedroom semis, eight four-bedroom semis and seven five-bedroom detached houses on offer this weekend. Builder Dwyer Nolan has not permitted any pre-launch sales. All the houses are of halfbrick front elevation, designed to avoid an all-brick townhouse look and have an attractive timber overhang to the porch. The hallway in the smallest house - a 1,100 sq ft three-bedroom semi at £115,995 - is brightened by a window. Another window stretching almost from floor to ceiling in the sittingroom allows plenty of light and there are double doors to the diningroom and kitchen. The large diningroom/kitchen has a good range of Nolan units and the pale terracotta wall tiling is standard. Solid timber doors lead to a bright conservatory with a mirrored back wall to give an impression of further space.
Upstairs, there are two goodsized doubles and one single bedroom, all with wardrobes. The main bedroom is en suite and the family bathroom is also upstairs. The four-bedroom semi-detached houses with 1,300 sq ft are larger overall and prices are from £129,995, with a few on bigger plots costing slightly more. The sittingroom is spacious, with the same tall window and an interconnecting diningroom. Timber doors lead through to the conservatory. The kitchen/breakfastroom has a range of oak units with leaded windows and display shelves. Glazed oak doors open to the conservatory from here. The five-bedroom detached house with 2,200 sq ft of floor space is priced from £220,000 to £225,000, depending on garden size. This has a very spacious hallway with guest lavatory and a cosy familyroom/study with an open fireplace. The sitting room is large and has the tall front window and two additional side windows, creating a very bright room.
Double doors connect the sittingroom and diningroom and a top-of-the-range conservatory at the back is large enough to fit a dining table. The large oak-fitted kitchen/ diningroom has an additional pantry unit. Kitchen tiling, standard in the smaller houses, is left to the discretion of the purchaser, with an allowance provided by the builder. Upstairs, there are two single bedrooms and three doubles, with a double shower room off the main bedroom. There are wardrobes in all the rooms and those in the main room are virtually wall-to-wall. The family bathroom is extra large. Gardens in all the houses are generous and some have mature trees. Both front and back lawns will be levelled and seeded and walled to the front.
