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Property Roundup: Irish property industry news hosted by Carol Tallon www.ipropertyradio.com Produced by Katie Tallon, with www.HearMeRoarMedia.com on sound

  1. Aug 20

    Community Voices in Co. Meath: Hubert Morris & Alan Crawford

    Week 8 of 26: Community Voices with Place Engage in County Meath — recorded in Kells with Alan Crawford, Senior Executive Planner with Meath County Council, and Hugh Morris of Alliance Auctioneers. Meath is the first county on this tour where the story is not dereliction. It has the lowest commercial vacancy rate of any county in Ireland — 10.0%, against a national 14.6% (GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report, Q4 2025, a commercial source). It also carries the longest average journey to work in the State at 35.2 minutes, and 13% population growth between 2016 and 2022 (CSO Census 2022). This conversation tests that baseline against what a planner and an agent see on the ground. We walked Kells first. Hugh Morris makes the case that the 2010 motorway — feared locally at the time, as bypasses had hollowed out retail elsewhere — did the opposite here, and that the HGV ban and public realm work that followed are what turned road access into footfall. Alan Crawford sets out what forward planning actually is, and why it stalls without data: a countywide settlement capacity audit, a social infrastructure audit, engagement with Uisce Éireann, ESB and EirGrid on where utility headroom exists, and a retail strategy built on granular fieldwork rather than county averages — because, as he puts it, a settlement can look healthy on paper when what it actually has is four pharmacies. Also in this episode: the variation extending the current county development plan to 2030 and the move towards a ten-year plan; the 400-plus submissions to the recent land-use zoning expression of interest; the argument for reviving public-private partnership for infrastructure; the Kells Printing Works conservation project and the Commons of Lloyd amenity plan; why buyers are asking for single-storey two- and three-bed homes the density model does not deliver; and what a four-bed semi is achieving in Kells today.Recorded in Kells, County Meath, August 2026. Full Placemaking Data Baseline for County Meath, with sources: placeengage.comCorrections and local knowledge are always welcome: carol@placeengage.com Photography: Katie Tallon MPRII

    Community Voices in Co. Meath: Hubert Morris & Alan Crawford
  2. Mar 28

    OpenHouse Ai: Where property development meets tech development – new home handovers for the next generation

    OpenHouse Ai: Property development meets tech development – Next generation new homes handover On this week’s Property Round-Up podcast, host Carol Tallon speaks with Sam Donworth, Founder & CEO of OpenHouse Ai, who is bridging the gap between traditional housing development and AI-powered proptech solutions for living. Working with a property developer in Cork by day and building AI tools by night, Sam identified a costly and inefficient problem: handover folders costing up to €35,000 per scheme, often unused by homeowners. His response was to rethink the entire process. OpenHouse Ai replaces paper handover packs with an AI-powered resident portal. Homeowners can ask questions about their home – heating systems, appliances, warranties – and receive instant, 24/7 answers.  For developers, this reduces calls, eliminates print costs, and improves customer experience. For BTR operators, it offers a scalable way to support tenants while easing pressure on management teams. The platform also includes a developer dashboard to manage sales pipelines, compliance documentation, and customer communications, all in one place. It is already live on a development in Cork City. This is a practical example of how technology can improve operational efficiency while enhancing the homeowner experience. And it’s only the start for this emerging problem-solver… Learn more about OpenHouse Ai: www.openhouseai.ie Download OpenHouse Ai (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/openhouse-ai/id6757764024 Watch back:

    OpenHouse Ai: Where property development meets tech development – new home handovers for the next generation

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Property Roundup: Irish property industry news hosted by Carol Tallon www.ipropertyradio.com Produced by Katie Tallon, with www.HearMeRoarMedia.com on sound

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