New Houses in Diswellstown Castleknock

Hi taytoman, thanks for that. The lane way itself is fine and I don't have an issue with that. It's more the big sign in to the left as you enter the lane way from the porterstown entrance which states that there is a rat infestation and that poison has been laid. Do you know anything about this? It may be that the sign is strategic to deter teenage drinking or whatever, but I'd like to know either way!
 
We are interested in DM but the lane way to the west of the estate running along side the Beeches estate has a sign up saying that there is a rat infestation and rat poison has been laid. It is in the overgrown area nearest the road on the porterstown Rs side. Does anybody know anything about this?

We're due to be moving in to DM in next month or two so a bit dismayed to see this, I absolutely detest the thought of rats being anywhere near me, have a complete irrational fear of them! Whenever I see one I'm jittery for days after, jump if a leaf blows past my leg etc! Don't ask me why but I know a lot of people are the same.

I suppose they're just a reality of life though, especially in the vicinity of where large swathes of land have been cleared for development.

Hopefully wont be a long term issue, and at least somebody (council?) is addressing in the meantime if there is a bit of a problem with them currently.
 
We're due to be moving in to DM in next month or two so a bit dismayed to see this, I absolutely detest the thought of rats being anywhere near me, have a complete irrational fear of them! Whenever I see one I'm jittery for days after, jump if a leaf blows past my leg etc! Don't ask me why but I know a lot of people are the same.

I suppose they're just a reality of life though, especially in the vicinity of where large swathes of land have been cleared for development.

Hopefully wont be a long term issue, and at least somebody (council?) is addressing in the meantime if there is a bit of a problem with them currently.
I know, we felt the same when we saw it, as we are very interested in DM. It's an official sign alright although not sure if it's a county council sign as I don't recall seeing any sign off on it. In the absence of any assistance on here around whether it's still a problem, I intend to knock on a couple of doors nearby to see if the residents can explain it. Hopefully they'll tell me that it's to deter teenagers hanging around!
 
To be honest I'd rather have teenagers hanging around, they could scare the rats away! ;-)

I wouldn't let it put you off completely anyway, its a great looking estate and i'd say it will be a class place to live.
I'd expect the building going on might just have caused a temporary issue, hopefully!
 
Rats being around are not really symptomatic of anything bar that there is building work going on nearby. I wouldn't let it put me off a house or development if I liked it. I'd be surprised if there was any building site that size in Dublin that hadn't had similar problems.
 
To be honest I'd rather have teenagers hanging around, they could scare the rats away! ;-)

I wouldn't let it put you off completely anyway, its a great looking estate and i'd say it will be a class place to live.
I'd expect the building going on might just have caused a temporary issue, hopefully!
Agreed, it is a great estate and I don't think it'll be a deal breaker but I'd still like to know as much as possible about why the sign is there. Now that I've seen it, I can't convince myself to ignore it!
 
Thanks for the reply. That's great you're almost ready to close.
How long did the snagging process take for you approx? how many visits /checks did you do to check the progress of the snag list?
Closed & keys today. We done an initial snag then 2 follow ups and just a quick final verification after that.
In fairness everything we asked to be done was completed to our satisfaction
 
Wouldn't worry about the rat issue too much. As somebody said it's partly because of building work. I've lived here in the area 25 years and have learned that if you live in what was a pretty rural areal less than a km distance between the Liffey and canal you can expect some of this. Mice more so. having said that you will rarely encounter one if ever now I'd say. I'm sure the area is well protected as the school is there so co co will be looking after it.

In relation to the gate and gap between the estates - this is to remain there supposedly. One is private managed and one is a normal estate. They don't usually join them up. We were told when buying that Park Developments will not be joining the estates at all?

Am sure co co could help on both points but wouldn't let the signs bother you...
 
The other side of the gate is 4 storey apartments as far as I know, with open ground up to the DM boundary (unless this has changed in latest planning submission). I assume this ground is landscaped or is a path / concrete area. HP are hardly going to build their own boundary wall up against the 2 metre DM boundary wall. The gate is unlocked at the moment. So I imagine that unless DM Mgt company padlock it or put keypad access on it, there will be a usable gate there. Anyone know anymore?
 
Indeed, however, it can be quite tricky to get rid of rats, particularly if there is a "colony" of them, hopefully it will be sorted though :)
 
Hi folks, just a question regarding DM. Has anybody asked about air tightness tests. Are they carried out on selected houses or does every house get tested. Do the builders provide you with a result?. If tests are not carried out on every property can you insist on one being carried out. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
 
For those who have signed off on their snags / moved into DM....were you happy that the snags were complete to your satisfaction in the end?
Were you happy with the finish of plasterwork and paintwork?


We have not been satisfied to sign off on our snag. Our paintwork is very poor as is some of the plasterwork.... It's a common complaint for this development apparently... unfortunately not the quality finish we had expected...
 
We have not been satisfied to sign off on our snag. Our paintwork is very poor as is some of the plasterwork.... It's a common complaint for this development apparently... unfortunately not the quality finish we had expected...

We got keys early in Phase 1 and were really happy with the finish. Snag was done well aside from 1 recurring leak that ended up being just a missed sealing around shower we eventually identified....and a creaky step on stairs. Painting was done so well we hired the on-site painters for additional repainting.
 
Hi folks, just a question regarding DM. Has anybody asked about air tightness tests. Are they carried out on selected houses or does every house get tested. Do the builders provide you with a result?. If tests are not carried out on every property can you insist on one being carried out. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

Our house had one done alright. Didn't get results or anything just happened to be up at the site while it was in progress and foreman told us what was going on.
I assumed every house had to get one re final certifications etc but could be wrong?!
 
Folks. Is there any clarity on the pedestrian access points yet? I know there will be pedestrian access to the west of the site, opening out onto the Mass path and to provide a route to the school. And there will be a pedestrian access to the south, over to the pitches at Somerton. But will the one to the north and close to the roundabout in front of the school be allowed? There's no way out there; that land is owned by HP; and there's no historic right of way there, as far as I know. Thanks for any insights.
 
Yes I've been trying to find out about this as well. I understand "hamilton park" are objecting to gate (assume this means park developments then). It would put the bus and train closer. FYI the connection is into the beeches estate about 2 /3ths of the way down- its not into the overgrown "mass path". Assume you want the gate to go ahead?
 
As an estate it will feel quite disconnected from surrounding estates without pedestrian access. The uncertainty in terms of potential pedestrian access is frustrating.
 
Yes, Lukeskywalker, you'd like to think it was going ahead. We haven't bought in DM, yet, btw. We have been having non-buyer's remorse though, and are wondering if we were overthinking the things that gave us pause for thought: the management charge; what's really going to happen with the old house; and this access issue. It's still quite private and secluded where the access into the Beeches is proposed. If you were walking home late at night, or if you had older kids coming back from their friends late in the evening, I'd prefer to be talking a path round by the school with good street lighting and less cover. It is such a lovely estate though, lots else to recommend it.
 
As an estate it will feel quite disconnected from surrounding estates without pedestrian access. The uncertainty in terms of potential pedestrian access is frustrating.

Surely they're not going to restrict DM families from being able walk their children to the school next door using the already built access points....I know there's a gate there at the moment but I cant see any reason why they will not allow access.

If its something to do with house valuations in HP i might understand that during the sales process but when the dust settles and the estates are fully occupied/settled, would the pedestrian points still be gated/blocked? the alternative is the DM kids/families need drive/be driven/spend a long time walking around to the school causing further traffic?


all a bit ridiculous i think
 
Guys I rang Fingal about this. Basically you can't make representations to Fingal about this as there is no current "open" planning application for DM or HP. On the Fingal website, it shows the latest planning for HP adjacent to this gate, which closed for submissions last month I believe. Its hard to see, but there appears to be a single long apartment block there with open ground between it and the gate. So I don't see why the gate can't open into this area- its not going into someone's back garden. My understanding is that the path into the beeches is to be upgraded on the beeches side with lighting- heard this a while ago from Fingal. Ideally this gate would have a keypad on it. Imagine that it will be at least a year before anything is open there. I dont see why Fingal could be opposed to the gate. Hope this helps
 
Back
Top