Swords area advice...

ziubzia

Hi,

We've been living in Malahide for just under a year now and are looking for a move. Were looking towards Swords as it's nearer the airport and we end up doing all the shopping, cinema etc in Swords anyway. Malahide doesn't really offer all that much, i've been to a few of the restaurants and a couple are good, but there are some shocking ones as well.

Anyway I was looking at 2 areas in particular Applewood and Holywell. Can anyone give me the low down on these 2 areas safe? family friendly? etc.

cheers,

Mr Simpson

Moved to Dublin County North

Stheno

ziubzia wrote: »

Hi,

We've been living in Malahide for just under a year now and are looking for a move. Were looking towards Swords as it's nearer the airport and we end up doing all the shopping, cinema etc in Swords anyway. Malahide doesn't really offer all that much, i've been to a few of the restaurants and a couple are good, but there are some shocking ones as well.

Anyway I was looking at 2 areas in particular Applewood and Holywell. Can anyone give me the low down on these 2 areas safe? family friendly? etc.

cheers,

Applewood is fine I live near it and generally have never had a problem

can't tell you anything about Holywell though!

MugMugs

Owned a house in Applewood.... Owned being the operative word. Heard stories of anti social behaviour and poorly built homes in Holywell.... Would you consider Boroimhe?

peteb2

Hey, less of it mugsmug. I live in Holywell and can't say i have seen any anti-social behavour with the exception of a few tweenagers sitting in a playground, which i wouldnt really class as that.

The OP isn't talking about buying i gather so construction doesn't come into play here at all. Any upkeep would be the landlords problemo.

Holywell is handy for access to the Swords Express and generally commuting because its close to the M1. Also village is a 15 min walkaway. Own spar shop and a few GAA pitches and a tennis court. Suits me.

Ella

Holywell is a really nice estate. A few of my friends live there and i walk through it every night and never see any trouble. Applewood doesnt have a good name tbh.

ziubzia

Thanks for all the reply's. We were planning on buying, so I was wondering what the concerns with the quality of the buildings were?

Ginny

TBH in general I wouldn't buy anything that was built in the last 10 or so years. I bought in Swords in 2008 and any of the new build estate properties I viewed has issues. Some of them really just seemed to be thrown up, studs coming through ceilings, poor soundproofing etc.
Make sure you view as many houses as you can in swords, there's a lot more on the market and better value then when I was buying, I'd advise if you can afford it to look at some older houses.

RADIUS

I have a family member who lives in broadmeadows and it really is very nice. Two supermarkets just around the corner too and Swords village 10 min walk away.

Beautiful big houses and very quiet estate.

The Scientician

I'd second Broadmeadow as it has a nice green. The area around Longlands/Castle Avenue/Oaklands/Chapel Lane is nice and quiet too. 5 minute walk to the Pavillions and the Main St. Nice people in the area and the houses are older stock so have I suppose stood the test of time.

seanmacc

Rather than limit yourself to Holywell in that area would you consider the Kinsealy and Melrose Estates. The houses are bigger, bigger gardens and were built in the 80's so are better quality. Drynam Hall houses are better built than Holywell (When you take the pyrite issue out of it. To be fair to the developer he is fixing the effected houses)

m0nsterie

seanmacc wrote: »

Drynam Hall houses are better built than Holywell (When you take the pyrite issue out of it. To be fair to the developer he is fixing the effected houses)

LOL. Sure if you ignore the pyrite issue, they're grand!! How could you trust a developer who did that?

As Ginny said above, most houses built in the last 10 years are of similar build quality.
The houses on the new side of Holywell (south side of the dual carriageway) are good when it comes to heat retention, and in the numerous ones I have been in there have been no sound issues (i.e. you cannot hear any sounds from next door). Some duplexes and apartments have issues with sound especially when owners have replaced the floors with wooden floors - but this is not an issue in the houses.

The new side in Holywell does not have a through road - unlike the older side - which means a lot less traffic. Also the central green area is designed nicely - it is close to all of the houses. Most people moved in around 5 years ago, and in general the majority the children are between 1 and 10 years old at the moment - in case you have kids yourself.

Holywell has tennis courts and a large area containing 2 football pitches. There is a local group that supports the promotion of sport in the community especially for kids tennis and basketball. It is also the home to Swords Rugby Football Club. There is a new Educate Together primary school on the north side of the estate.

I think if you visit the estates you are interested in at different times of the day, on different days of the week, it will give you a good idea of any anti-social issues. I have not encountered any in Holywell so far. Regarding build quality, the engineer or surveyor you use when you are looking at houses will keep you informed - better to go by a professional rather than the opinions of some people on this site who may never even have stepped into one of the houses but still has an opinion on it.

seanmacc

m0nsterie wrote: »

LOL. Sure if you ignore the pyrite issue, they're grand!! How could you trust a developer who did that?

Not necessarily the developers fault but he is fixing the houses. Many developers have gone to ground when this issue came up, filed bankruptcy and left homeowners high and dry.

The Drynam Hall houses are generally larger (not by much I'll admit), don't suffer any traffic issues and from a member of my family who had surveyors reports done on houses in both estates are better built. Holywell is in a far better location though in terms of proximity to shops, Spar and Eurospar being close, Airside (Proposed new Tesco going there) and Pavillions. Better for public transport (easy options for 41, 43, 102, 142 and Swords Express).

Both Holywell and Drynam Hall both have an unfinished appearence to them. The park and playing pitches in Drynam were never built and the Lonis shop in the estate closed with little chance of it ever reopening. Holywell still has the ring road that never surfaced and with proposed new developments around Airside expect there to be construction traffic there in the future.

I know nothing much about Applewood to compare it.

peteb2

Make sure you are 100% correct - road is sanctioned to go with permission granted. Where as the possible development you are talking about is under review from an bord pleannala. Plus there is a 3 ton limit through the estate so in any event there will be no construction traffic passing through the estate!

m0nsterie

seanmacc wrote: »

Not necessarily the developers fault but he is fixing the houses. Many developers have gone to ground when this issue came up, filed bankruptcy and left homeowners high and dry.

I don't recommend that the OP looks at Drynam Hall at all.

seanmacc wrote: »

Holywell still has the ring road that never surfaced and with proposed new developments around Airside expect there to be construction traffic there in the future.

Not an issue for the south side of Holywell (the area I was talking about above).

MugMugs

Have the flooding issues of Holywell been sorted?

peteb2

Starting to get a bit libelous there mugsmugs. There is no flooding issues in Holywell. A lot of surface water after rain - like the m50. But there has never been a flood in Holywell so you would do well to stop any scaremongering.

The Hill Billy

peteb2 wrote: »

...Starting to get a bit libelous there mugsmugs...

@peteb2 - I don't see anything libellous in the comment as there is no specific party being referred to, rather it was a general comment.

@MugMugs - Perhaps you can clarify exactly what flooding issues you are referring to.

@All - Let's get back on topic also & quit the digs at various areas. Please keep in mind what the OP requested...

ziubzia wrote: »

...Anyway I was looking at 2 areas in particular Applewood and Holywell. Can anyone give me the low down on these 2 areas safe? family friendly? etc. ...

tHB

m0nsterie

MugMugs wrote: »

Have the flooding issues of Holywell been sorted?

Yes.

The only flooding issue in Holywell was in the area of Holywell View, just north of where the school is now, on the north side of the estate. 2 houses were affected during a major rain event in August 2008 (as happened all over the country - see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Irish_flash_floods). No other part of the estate was affected. The drainage improvements carried out in that area have meant that subsequent major rain events have not caused any issues.

So just to repeat - during a major flash flooding event for the whole of Ireland, 2 houses on the north side of the estate were effected. Unfortunately other parts of the county and country were not so fortunate.

Ziubzia,
I think my last post should cover the questions you had in your original post, but again it's recommended that you try to spend some time in each of the estates you are interested in at different times and days. And use a qualified building surveyor.

PCros

I have lived in Swords all my life and in terms of the 4 "new" areas that were developed the best would be Boroimhe followed by Drynam (yes Pyrite was an issue in the Drynam Hall estate but has been fixed).

Applewood Village area has never appealed to me due to alot of social housing there. Other estates that surround it such as Glen Ellan and Southbank are nice.

Holywell was left for years without a shop and a school, also the R125 runs straight through it, I come to the roundabout everyday and see people with kids/prams struggling to cross. With Tesco arriving in the new year the traffic will be much higher.

Meesared

Ive been living in a place in the south part of Holywell and its been great here, nice and quiet, warmest place I've ever lived in, nice neighbours. All good, would recommend it

m0nsterie

PCros wrote: »

Holywell was left for years without a shop and a school, also the R125 runs straight through it, I come to the roundabout everyday and see people with kids/prams struggling to cross. With Tesco arriving in the new year the traffic will be much higher.

I am not sure if everyone is aware that there are two sides to the Holywell estate, the south side one of which has no through road and therefore no traffic issues. In fact is is very quiet and safe for children.

If the Tesco does arrive (to the the north side of the R125) then there are stipulations in the planning to provide pedestrian crossings of the R125.

I don't know why you commented on Holywell being left for years without a shop and a school, it has them now - the OP wants to move in now, not 5 years ago. I see a lot of bashing in these threads which is unnecessary and says more about the posters than the areas they are bashing. Just stick to the facts and try to help the OP out.

Meesared

m0nsterie wrote: »

I am not sure if everyone is aware that there are two sides to the Holywell estate, the south side one of which has no through road and therefore no traffic issues. In fact is is very quiet and safe for children.

If the Tesco does arrive (to the the north side of the R125) then there are stipulations in the planning to provide pedestrian crossings of the R125.

I don't know why you commented on Holywell being left for years without a shop and a school, it has them now - the OP wants to move in now, not 5 years ago. I see a lot of bashing in these threads which is unnecessary and says more about the posters than the areas they are bashing. Just stick to the facts and try to help the OP out.

The south side of Holywell is pretty nice

tbh

ziubzia wrote: »

Hi,

We've been living in Malahide for just under a year now and are looking for a move. Were looking towards Swords as it's nearer the airport and we end up doing all the shopping, cinema etc in Swords anyway. Malahide doesn't really offer all that much, i've been to a few of the restaurants and a couple are good, but there are some shocking ones as well.

Anyway I was looking at 2 areas in particular Applewood and Holywell. Can anyone give me the low down on these 2 areas safe? family friendly? etc.

cheers,

hey -

I'm a bit surprised that you'd want to move from Malahide to Swords, and I'm saying that as someone who's lived in Swords for nearly 40 years, and and currently raising my family there.

Swords is a lovely town, with some great estates and some not-so-great places, just like everywhere else. Personally, I wouldn't consider moving to Holywell or Applewood - and I sincerly mean no disrespect to anyone living there - because they seem to me to be very built up with very little to do.
I live quite near applewood and use the shops down there, and I have to say, I've always found it a little grim. I only know Holywell from driving past it to get to the M1, but similar feelings - lots and lots of buildings with very little recreational stuff. Again - I know people who live there may feel insulted by that - I genuinely mean no disrespect, it just wouldn't be for me.

The puzzling thing is moving from Malahide to Swords with a young family. I'd - to be honest - much rather live in Malahide where I had the sea and the village on my doorstep. It's not like it'd take you hours to drive to the Pavs if you wanted to go shopping. If you're living in Applewood, it'd probably take you as long to get to the Pavs as it would from most places in Malahide.

If you're renting in Malahide and want to buy, I'd - budget permitting - look at some of the more established estates in Swords - places like longlands etc, Broadmeadows, Pinegrove and Castlefarm. There are also nice places up in Swords Manor, but it's a little built up there too.

In summary - if you were moving to Dublin for the first time, then yeah - there are a lot of nice places in Swords. But if you're already in Malahide, tbh I don't see that moving to Swords is going to give you many options that you don't already have.

just my 2c, don't mean to start a local feud!

PCros

m0nsterie wrote: »

I don't know why you commented on Holywell being left for years without a shop and a school, it has them now - the OP wants to move in now, not 5 years ago. I see a lot of bashing in these threads which is unnecessary and says more about the posters than the areas they are bashing. Just stick to the facts and try to help the OP out.

I was just saying that it’s an area in Swords that is obviously low down on the pecking order for amenities if it took 5+ years (Holywell was completed 2006) - this would be a concern for me if further amenities are needed in the future.

Don’t be taking this personally, they are my opinions which the OP asked for.

kennyb3

+1, to what tbh said, used to live in Malahide, now in skerries. Drove through Holywell regularly and didn't see any attraction.

What has it got? No football pitch or club, same with rugby etc etc. Very little amenities. Apart from a spar you'll need to get in your car for everything. You'll need to get a taxi for a meal out or go to the pub.

Again no disrespect to people living there but it just has very little bar the houses themselves.

Ella

PCros wrote: »

I was just saying that it’s an area in Swords that is obviously low down on the pecking order for amenities if it took 5+ years (Holywell was completed 2006) - this would be a concern for me if further amenities are needed in the future.

Don’t be taking this personally, they are my opinions which the OP asked for.

Have you read the planning permission for Tesco? It will not be built until the ring road for Holywell is complete. Taking most of the traffic away from Holywell north.

billyhead

Just curious. Does anyone know if Pyrite is staill an issue in the Drynam hall area in any of the houses or apartments?

seanmacc

billyhead wrote: »

Just curious. Does anyone know if Pyrite is staill an issue in the Drynam hall area in any of the houses or apartments?

They have finished the houses on Drynam Green a couple of weeks ago and all the houses on Drynam View were done. Not all the houses in the estate were effected. There may be a few houses yet to do but I don't think there is any work going on in the estate at the moment. I believe there was a movement in the estate by some residents to get more out of the developer if that issue is still ongoing their houses have yet to be fixed.
Without saying what the residents who took the developers offer got, in my opinion were very reasonably looked after.

PWEI

tbh wrote: »

hey -

Swords is a lovely town, with some great estates and some not-so-great places, just like everywhere else. Personally, I wouldn't consider moving to Holywell or Applewood - and I sincerly mean no disrespect to anyone living there - because they seem to me to be very built up with very little to do.
I live quite near applewood and use the shops down there, and I have to say, I've always found it a little grim. I only know Holywell from driving past it to get to the M1, but similar feelings - lots and lots of buildings with very little recreational stuff. Again - I know people who live there may feel insulted by that - I genuinely mean no disrespect, it just wouldn't be for me.

!

Well I'm going to disagree with you there, there's plenty to do in Applewood.
It has the only swimming pool in Swords & while it wasn't the best under the name Jackie Skelly's, it has improved immeasurably since it was taken over by Energie Fitness. It's a great facility to have & I use it a couple of times a week. There is also a large gym in Energie Fitness with loads of classes on offer; Spinning, Ab Attack, Zumba, TRX, Rebounding etc.

There is an all-weather mini-pitch in Applewood & Fingal have just lodged plans for a new playground in the village.

Then there's all the football pitches behind Swords business park which is only down the road. They're ideal for ball games & running & I do most of my running down there. Then there's the skateboard park which is also close by.
So there is no shortage of things to do in the Applewood area.

Maybe the OP should consider looking at estates like Bunbury Gate & Sandford Woods. They have the best of both worlds, close to the shops & facilities in Applewood but are quieter family estates.

The only advantage that I can see that Holywell would have over Applewood is its close proximity to the M1 & the Swords Express takes have the time to get to town.

ziubzia

Thanks for all your posts. Some great food for thought.

Hard job this moving business. I might just try renting somewhere get a feel for the area and go from there.

Thanks again everyone.