Bells and whistles
City dwellers looking for commuter belt living and Naas locals will delight at new scheme Bellingsfield, Naas, Co Kildare ASKING PRICE: €345,000-€470,000 AGENT: Savills (01) 618 1300 or CME Auctioneers (045) 897 711
KILLASHEE House Hotel, a four-star hotel set in lush Kildare countryside, about 1.5km from Naas, has its origins in land owned by Sir Richard Belling, a sovereign of Naas. Alexander Graydon, an MP representing the town in the Irish House of Commons, leased the land from Belling and settled at Killashee in 1711, building a Georgian house there.
The hotel, though, is housed in a country manor built by the Moore family, descendants of the earls of Drogheda. In 1861, they commissioned Thomas Turner, an architect to wealthy echelons of society and designer of Stormont Castle, to design the property while he was at the height of his career. The result was a grand Victorian residence set on an estate of 400 acres, with Piper’s Hill Stud House acting as the stewards’ residence.
Killashee House subsequently enjoyed turns as a home to a French order of nuns and a boarding school, but the estate was broken up in the 1930s by the Land Commission, which divvied out some of the land to local families. Some of this land was bought decades later by Sean Mulryan, the owner of Ballymore Group, and its heritage is remembered in his Piper’s Hill development near
Killashee House Hotel. Sales of the 117 homes at Piper’s Hill wrapped up last year, so Ballymore is building another scheme adjoining Piper’s Hill. The development, which will consist of 243 houses when it’s finished, is called Bellingsfield, after Sir Richard Belling.
Like Piper’s Hill, Bellingsfield is pitched at city dwellers seeking plenty of bang for their buck in the commuter belt, as well as locals working in Naas, the largest town in Co Kildare.
Bellingsfield is set within landscaped green spaces planted with local wildflowers. The first tranche at Bellingsfield, which is being released this weekend, comprises 24 three and four-bed semi-detached homes and four-bed detached properties, with sizes ranging from 1,300 sq ft to 1,758 sq ft.
Prices start at €345,000 for a three-bed semi style, known as the Foxglove, at €385,000 for the four-bed semi Hazel house type, and at €470,000 for the four-bed detached ‘Skylark’ design.
Ballymore has used a combination of Ivanhoe and red-hued Viola brick detail mixed with render for the facades to add visual interest to the streetscapes at Bellingsfield.
The exteriors of the timber-framed homes also come with high-performance pre-finished hardwood windows, concrete roof tiles, and sealed double-glazing to the patio doors, which lead to a rear seeded garden. Each house has two car parking spaces out front.
Inside, there are raised ceiling heights throughout the ground floor. In the living room, the Hazel and Skylark are fitted with an insert wood-burning stove with a contemporary-style surround, while the Foxglove has an electric fire.
The bespoke kitchen is fitted with quartz worktop and appliances, while the bathrooms and en suites are designed around contemporary fresh lines.
They come with floor and wall tiling as standard, with heated towel rails and mirrors in the bathrooms. The bedroom wardrobes also have a contemporary design.
An air-to-water heat pump system at the A-rated properties provides efficient heating to the wall-mounted aluminium radiators, as well as domestic hot water.
Families with children who buy a home at Bellingsfield will have no excuse for being late for school — there are four schools within a five minutes’ walk, namely Piper’s Hill Montessori, Gaelscoil Nás Na Riogh, St. David’s National School, and Piper’s Hill College.
Dublin City centre is about a 50-minute drive away from Bellingsfield in light traffic, while Newbridge is a 15-minute drive. The development is also near a bus route that serves local towns, while commuters to Dublin can also use the rail service from nearby Sallins.
Viewings at Bellingsfield will be held tomorrow and Sunday, between 12pm and 2pm.