Steeplechase, Rathoath

Hi all, Signing contracts this Friday for a place in Steeplechase and wondering if anyone has any opinions about this location. Thanks.

"But to be honest, so are nearly all the outer suburbs in Dublin that don't lie on a good train line or dart line." Before you sign have you read jamesblondes advice?

Hi YOBR, Yes I've read jamesblonde's comments on Lucan but I'm looking for opinions from anyone who lives in Steeplechase(Rathoath Co Meath).
Thanks.

parmenion said:

Hi YOBR, Yes I've read jamesblonde's comments on Lucan but I'm looking for opinions from anyone who lives in Steeplechase(Rathoath Co Meath).
Thanks.

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And your still buying? ...strange.....

I don't live there myself but know people who do. The houses are well finished and the common areas are very well kept. It's one of the nicer estates in Ratoath. When it was first launched it created a lot of excitment. Commuting from Ratoath is not great though. You really have to use a car. The bus serivces can be slow and there are no plans for other public transport as far as I know. The village is improving with a few new restaurants, community centre and a bank
Best of luck with the house

I don't live in Steeplechase but I do live in Ratoath. I moved here three years ago from Clonsilla and have never regretted it. Steeplechase as far as I can tell seems to be a well finished development in general. There is a new playground going into to the development in the new year. The landscaping has been done to a high standard. I haven't heard that there has been major problems with the snag lists in the houses and apartments.
Ratoath as a "village" has come on a lot and continues to improve. There is to be a much improved commuter bus service in the new year and when the train line to Dunboyne is finished it should help take traffic away from Ratoath and give another option to commuters travelling to th ecity centre from Ratoath.
Although we are close to Dublin there is still a community spirit in Ratoath and I'm sure you'll enjoy it here. If I can help any more I'm happy to try and answer any questions.

not very helpful but personally I think the 3bed semis in Milltree are lovely, really nice layout with skylights and two french doors in kitchen /diner. I would wonder is steeplechase harder to get into Dublin from being on the far side of Ratoath as far as Dublin is concerned? In heavy traffic the wrong side of a village could add twenty minutes to a journey I'd imagine.

I live in Steeplechase and I have to say it is a great place to live.
The common areas are always immaculate though you do have to pay a management fee between 350 and 450 euro per annum which I understand is quite reasonable given the amount of open space on offer (about ½ the development land) there are also soccer pitches and plenty of safe footpaths. I’ve had no issues what so ever with my house and any issues brought to the residents assoc in their annual meeting have been minor, typically about common parking but this is largely due to local government bylaws and not to the developer skimping, having said that the developer has been quick to right any issues raised.

The estate is about a 5-10 minute walk from the village and therefore from the bus stop. As for the busses the direct busses which run at 07:15 and 07:30 take about 45-50 minutes to reach O’Connell St though you can add 15-20 minutes to that if you get the busses that run via Ashbourne. The new N2 has dramatically reduced the journey time to town. I have never driven into work and the bus is very reliable. There is word of a dramatic increase to the service in mid 2008.

Ratoath is a lovely place to live, you do hear of the odd incident they mostly involve teenage kids which is the same everywhere.
We looked at many areas before deciding on Ratoath and I have to say we make the right decision.

[FONT=&quot]I hope this is of help.[/FONT]

Link to bus time table:
[broken link removed]

Thanks for all the replies, Sounds like we've made the right choice. Good news about the improved bus service in 2008 as well. Have a good Christmas everyone.

Does anyone know if NTL provide broadband & digital tv in steeplechase?

Thanks.

I'm not sure who the provider is but there is piped cable television in the estate if that is any use to you

Thanks Tara83, I'm buying an apartment there (hopefully get the keys this week) and I'm sure they said it was wired for cable but NTL don't have any record of steeplechase hill.

parmenion said:

Thanks Tara83, I'm buying an apartment there (hopefully get the keys this week) and I'm sure they said it was wired for cable but NTL don't have any record of steeplechase hill.

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Nope, no NTL in Steeplechase Hill... All the houses in the area have NTL (by MMDS) the little wire mesh dish, or Sky, by dish too, or Broadworks. 30 analogue channels... Any questions, just ask.. I live in the apartments in Steeplechase Hill.

Thanks LarWright, Thought as much, but I rang NTL around two weeks ago and Steeplechase Hill was added to their list, girl said that cable was availible. Havnt decided yet which option to go for. Maybe she got it wrong and MMDS is the only option. On another topic, how big is your water tank? The one in our apartment is huge but divided into a small bottom part for hot water and a huge upper part for cold. Problem is hot water will only fill up around a third of a bath. Had the plumber in and said that that was as much hot water as you get from that tank. It's grand for showers but the occasional bath would be nice.

Thanks

parmenion said:

On another topic, how big is your water tank? The one in our apartment is huge but divided into a small bottom part for hot water and a huge upper part for cold. Problem is hot water will only fill up around a third of a bath. Had the plumber in and said that that was as much hot water as you get from that tank. It's grand for showers but the occasional bath would be nice.

Thanks

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Eh, I'm in work now so not sure, but yeah, It's split in two alright... I thought that the Top bit was smaller, but could be wrong. My water heats up directly off the gas boiler (after a few plumber calls) so just stick the Gas on, leave for 2 mins, and hey presto, hot water out of all the taps, including the bath!??? I never use the immersion heater to be honest.

It didn't work this way in the beginning though, we had to get a plumber (from the site) in to have a look, after alot of messing he changed a valve that had been put in the wrong way. We also had problems with the Water Pump cutting out after about a minute. Not good when your just in the shower and it stops, but another guy came and fixed that.

Thanks Lar, Can you check the tank when you get a chance and let me know? Are you able to fill a bath with hot water?

Thanks

Will do, I'll have a look later on when I'm home, but I'd hazard a guess as to say that it is the same as yours, just the memory isn't great, haven't looked in it since we had the water pump problem! In relation to the bath, yeah, as long as the Gas Boiler is on, I can fill it with Hot water.

Sounds like the boiler that Lar has is the type that heats hot water instantly so you don't need to store hot water in the tank. Not sure of the technical name sorry! If the builders left an instruction manual for the boiler you should be able to check what type of boiler it is. Doesn't make sense not to be able to have enough hot water for a bath. You may need to check it out with the foreman.

I had actually thought they had finished all the building work in Steeplechase.
Is there much to do around the apartments?