Area of Allendale, Clonee

jonc24

Hi All,
My fiance & I are looking at a house in Allendale(Clonee) at the moment but I just wanted to know what the area is like?I work fairly near by and it's always seemed okay but i don't really know. We were looking in Tyrrelstown too which is nice but I've heard from several property developers and people in the know that it'll be extremely hard to sell somewhere up there in a few years.(A friend of mine is experiencing that now up there) Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

Victor

One suggestion is to drive around at 9-11pm on a Friday/Saturday night.

The_Conductor

Allendale is a nice area- but as you have discovered for yourself- house prices there are pretty much in freefall. Only 6 months ago a 3 bed there would have gone for about 385, its now down to about 340-345.

The big problem in the area is that there are absolutely no school places available- locals are booking children into the primary school there, immediately when they are born. Traffic can be manic at peak times (though you probably know all about that), it can take over 20 mins to clear the exit slip into the village. Clonee itself is about as close as you can get to the countryside and still be in an urban area. The old village, which is actually in County Meath, not D15, is lovely, it was a traditional stopping off post on the way to Fairyhouse.

Its a nice area, and if you accept that you will not be buying the property on a speculative basis, but as a family home, you could do a lot worse.

On a good note- its extremely close to the railway station- so commuting by rail is a very definite possibility.

On a bad note- I don't know where you are buying- but Allendale Grove is very small, and the internal layout a bit odd (Menolly Homes, the developer, seems to consistently built houses with bizzare interior layouts....)
3 beds are only about 1200 square feet. The 4 beds are very spacious though! Built quality is extremely mixed- despite the young age of these estates, it would be highly recommended to get a thorough survey done. Sound proofing is non-existant, so keep this in mind- who would your neighbours be?

Crime is not really big problem- Clonee is administered from Dunboyne Garda Station- if you have a chat with some of the friendly Gardai there, they will most probably be able to give you a headsup on which areas are the quieter in the area.

S.

Degsy

smccarrick wrote:

Crime is not really big problem-

YET.These areas have literally thousands of couples living there who are all going to be having kids in and around the same time which means the areas will be suddenly swamped with kids who discover there's exactly nothing to do and they're miles from anywhere.How big is the garda station?
Think Tallaght 1970's...

dodgyme

What a weird mix of replies. I know allendale very well there is very little crime. The area has as much likelihood in the future to become like terenure then tallaght. There were loadsa new families having kids in terenure in the 1970's like tallaght.
Traffic is an issue but its not an issue around allendale ongar to clonee but face towards blanch and the more towards blanch you go the worse it is as would be expected. The blanch roundabout is painful in the morning at rush hour and if you are on the M50 you have the toll to consider. The train is right beside you and with the pace line you will probably have a choice. Clonee is a nice village (shops restaurants etc) which is getting very built up now. Ongar is great to have on your doorstep however why the pubs and the restaurants are not open yet is a mystery. Littlepace has a pub/church etc and this is a 15 min walk away from you. The bus services are sh*te and knowing this country will stay sh8te. Taxi drivers from the city centre are pains in the arse when you tell them they have to go to ongar/allendale although less so in the last year or two. Schools are a big issue and investors in the property market here means the some estates had high ownership by people not living there but this is changing and owner occupiers are increasing as the investors are ofloading which then hits the prices a bit. But who cares since the area will probably be better off for it. The quality of the houses (soundproofing etc) are ok. If you like living close to the countryside it will be a good area for you.

bugler

I lived in Allendale (the end right next to Ongar) for a year or so around 2004/2005. I also lived in Ongar for another year after that. It's a nice enough area. As regards crime, well our next door neighbours car was robbed right from the driveway in front of the sitting room window at about 9 o'clock one evening. My brother in-law also witnessed an assault with a bottle one day, just young scumbags that you get everywhere across West Dublin.

But I regard the above two incidents as aberrations rather than the norm. It felt safe as an area to me.

We were looking in Tyrrelstown too which is nice but I've heard from several property developers and people in the know that it'll be extremely hard to sell somewhere up there in a few years.

Now this is the bit that worries me. It might be very hard to sell anywhere in a few years. How our slump is going to pan out and at what rate is up in the air, and certainly isn't for this thread. But if you're thinking you might want to sell up in a few years time I'd warn you to be very careful, as you might not get back whatever it is you're paying for this place in Allendale.

jonc24

Thanks all for the informative & fast replies. Your infos pretty much what I expected. The house itself wasn't great anyway.....
We were also looking at Hazelbury and it seemed quiet enough. You'd need a crystal ball though to estimate the future prospects of these areas though!
cheers.

Jip

jonc24 wrote:

We were looking in Tyrrelstown too which is nice but I've heard from several property developers and people in the know that it'll be extremely hard to sell somewhere up there in a few years.(A friend of mine is experiencing that now up there)

I'd say the reason your friend is finding it difficult to sell it that they're still building up there and as the aread is quite new there's alot of properties for sale already so there's alot of competition, some houses have sold within 2 weeks of going on the market so it's not a wide spread problem. I can't really see how these 'people in the know' can see into the future, the area has all the facilities needed and there aren't that many young kids or pre teens in the area either.

JupiterKid

Now is definitely not a good time to buy a house as prices are in free fall at the moment. An estate agent friend of mine says she does not expect the market to recover in September and is very pessimistic about prospects for the housing market. But if you are buying for the long-term and as a home, you should be ok in the long run.

Allendale is built by Mennolly Homes - the same developer that built the houses with faulty foundations in Drynam, Swords where the floors and walls are cracking due to inferior concrete sop be careful!

Jip

JupiterKid wrote:

An estate agent friend of mine ......is very pessimistic about prospects for the housing market.

Very pessimistic about the housing market because it means that estate agents, who for years had the easiest job in the country, are actually going to have to do some work now for a change. And the cheek of some of them it start increasing the fees because the market is tougher now, god love the little dears.

Kev.

hi can any tell me about the 4 bed houses in allendale if they would be a good buy or not.ive read reviews that the houses are not sound proofed to good is this true or is it just some house types in the area.also how much were they to buy when they were built .is allendale lawn and green nice to live in.does anyone be affected by the pilon there in between the 2 areas.would it be hard to get the kids into schools.is the estate managed by the council or is there a management company if so how much does it cost yearly.

Chevy RV

Check which parts of the Clonee area carry this health warning. Remember when 1/2 of it was submerged in water a few years back ?;)

Samson

smccarrick wrote:

Built quality is extremely mixed- despite the young age of these estates, it would be highly recommended to get a thorough survey done. Sound proofing is non-existant, so keep this in mind- who would your neighbours be?

Crime is not really big problem- Clonee is administered from Dunboyne Garda Station- if you have a chat with some of the friendly Gardai there, they will most probably be able to give you a headsup on which areas are the quieter in the area.

JupiterKid wrote:

Allendale is built by Mennolly Homes - the same developer that built the houses with faulty foundations in Drynam, Swords where the floors and walls are cracking due to inferior concrete sop be careful!

Kev. wrote:

ive read reviews that the houses are not sound proofed to good is this true or is it just some house types in the area.

A friend of mine lives in Allendale and from day one he was unhappy with the sound transmission from the adjoining house. He eventually complained to the builder (Mennolly) and after airborne sound transmission testing was carried out (which showed that sound-proofing was sub-standard - to a significant degree), they agreed to carry out any remedial work (remove & replace plasterwork, install insulation etc.) required.

Over a year after the builder agreeing to carry out the works required, he's still waiting, and has now instructed a solicitor.


By the way, Allendale is served by Blanchardstown Garda Station, not Dunboyne.

The_Conductor

Samson wrote:

By the way, Allendale is served by Blanchardstown Garda Station, not Dunboyne.

Sorry- I should clarify this- Clonee Co. Meath is administered from Dunboyne. The areas in Co. Dublin are officially administered from Blanchardstown.

S.

amtc

except if they're on the left of the ongar road when administered from lucan!

The_Conductor

amtc wrote:

except if they're on the left of the ongar road when administered from lucan!

And if you're in Lucan on the far side of the river Liffey (i.e. Laraghcon etc) you're administered from Leixlip....... I don't think the Gardai are too strict about these things!

Re: Mennolly Homes- No more posting on the matter- unless you have some official sources (links to newspaper articles or other reliable sources) to back up what you're saying.

S.

ciarsd

I've recently sold a property in Allendale (3 Bed) for the asking price. It went on sale in the first week of June '07, had viewings at the end of that week with 2 offers by the following Monday morning. It went sale agreed in the last week of June and sold in July.

Allendale itself has had it's issues and as a result is still under the control of Menolly homes.
The estate is not managed by a property management company. Fingal are not willing to take over the estate until such a time that all of the outstanding items that were in the final estate snag are rectified. This is a long term, ongoing issue.

It is true that there is an issue with sound in a high percentage of the houses, my property was affected by this.
I had an engineer come and test the sound and the level of insulation - it failed the tests, so I got onto Menolly who eventually rectified the issue with some remedial work which took 5 days from start (tear down) to finish (painters and contract cleaners). A higher spec. plasterboard and insulation was used, directly replacing the original paper thin type. The finished result was far superior and well within regs - well worth the 5 days and the mess.

The estate itself has a high percentage of rental properties. As a result, the area (in parts) does lack a community neighbourly vibe. There is a residents committee who organise cleanup days/neighbourhood watch/signage and general liason with Menolly/Fingal/Local Gardai. They do great work but unfortunately it's always left to the usual few reliables.

Regarding crime. I am not aware of numerous car thefts/break-ins, but personally I know of two car break ins/damage but no house break-ins. That's not to say there hasn't been any, I just don't have facts or personal experiences.
In the areas of the estate that I was familiar with, it didnt suffer from any anti social behaviour. A couple of groups of teenagers passing by was about the height of it during school breaks/mid-terms etc

In reply to some of the comments already posted, Allendale is served by Lucan Garda station - according to the Community Garda liason. You would've thought Blanchardstown, given it's proximity, but it's how the districts are divided up.
School places are desperate. I've no personal experiences (thank god), but from talking with some locals and reading various articles about the area, there is a huge need for many many places - in fact, schools! What area in Dublin suburbs doesn't have this issue and why it's not being taken as a matter of priorty I do not know :mad:

jlang

Can anyone help me answer this. Allendale is about half way between Clonsilla and Clonee, being just off the Ongar Road. The ads on myhome are mostly Clonsilla and those on DAFT say Clonee. Who gets to decides whether an address is in which location? Which would be snobbier - Clonee because it's "rural", or Clonsilla because it's closer to Dublin?

Also, is there a map/site/whatever showing the Garda districts in D15?

The_Conductor

Hope this helps.

S.

Jambo

smccarrick wrote:

Sorry- I should clarify this- Clonee Co. Meath is administered from Dunboyne. The areas in Co. Dublin are officially administered from Blanchardstown.

S.

Im currently living in Dunboyne and Dunboyne is administered in turn by Ashbourne - There is a Garda presence for 2 to 3 hours daily but other than that you must contact them via the green intercom on the station door or via telephone . Local govt reps are currently in talks with the Dept of Justice (According to the Meath Echo ) to get more Gardai and a station on a full time basis for the area

Victor

I would consider it Ongar or Clonsilla.

ciarsd

jlang wrote:

Can anyone help me answer this. Allendale is about half way between Clonsilla and Clonee, being just off the Ongar Road. The ads on myhome are mostly Clonsilla and those on DAFT say Clonee. Who gets to decides whether an address is in which location? Which would be snobbier - Clonee because it's "rural", or Clonsilla because it's closer to Dublin?

Also, is there a map/site/whatever showing the Garda districts in D15?

I dunno who gets to decide (probably a politician/back hander type scenario )

All I do know is, when I bought off plans in October 2002 it was marketed as Allendale, Phibblestown, Clonsilla, Dublin 15 - never Clonee Co. Dublin or Clonee Co. Meath.
All subsequent mail was always addressed and sent to Allendale, Phibblestown, Clonsilla, Dublin 15 also.

centrino

Watch out for the BIG Pilon people, thats what you should be worried about. Also one in Tyrellstown,stay well away from them!!!:eek:

The_Conductor

Centrino- like to elaborate?

Ste.phen

I think Daft use the An Post database, which is the one I'd trust when deciding how my post was going to be addressed

ciarsd

smccarrick wrote: »

Centrino- like to elaborate?

On the far right hand side of the estate, (closest the Ongar Distributor Road) there is huge electricity pylons... apart from being an eyesore I'm not sure what Centrino is getting at.
I do know that those lines stretch right across to Leixlip - possibly feeding Intel/HP :P

Mink

I've lived in Tyrrelstown for 3 years and I quite like it, shops are handy, people seem nice & it's kept well. There's loads of kids and teenagers but they all seem chilled out and no trouble. The oldest part of the estate sometimes gets visits from rough teens and there's the odd burglary that end but I don't hear of anything else in other parts of the estate. I've loads of friends that moved out there too with their kids and they like it. School seems good too, my friend's kid goes there and loves it