Coatesville

By CHARLOTTE COSSAR.

An attractive destination for lifestylers, Coatesville offers exceptional living within a comfortable drive of central Auckland.

This once farming area has been tastefully carved up into lifestyle blocks giving residents the best of all worlds - a fabulous outlook across their gently rolling pastoral land without having to do the hard yards of serious farming and loads of amenities just down the road.

Within the Rodney District Council catchment area to the east of the Riverhead State Forest and 27km north west of Auckland, the area was originally named Sunnyside (which is now the name of a sought-after road) by settlers before being renamed for the third time in 1926 after Gordon Coates.

Popular with small-scale market gardeners and equestrians, Coatesville is a rural location that has a village atmosphere, complete with a local hall and store.

Coatesville is attracting a lot of professionals who work in the city but want to escape at the end of the day to their own piece of paradise - many of the homes are down long driveways and hidden from noisy passers-by. However, it is also a popular area for people living in surrounding areas wanting to upgrade.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO?

If you can bear to set foot off your gorgeous property, there are several scenic and recreational reserves nearby and Huapai Golf Course, a driving range and rifle range just down the road.

For those who like to spend quality time, preferably all afternoon, at wineries, these are all handy and well worth a visit, and shopping needs are catered for either on the North Shore or in West Auckland.

And there's always the annual agricultural day to keep locals up to date with all the latest toys.

HOUSE PRICES

The area has many developed blocks with stunning homes. Some have fetched more than $2 million and you would be hard pressed to find a home on a 1000sq m section for less than $300,000. Generally, the lifestyle properties, which most are, in Coatesville are on the market from the $500,000 mark.

The most sought-after areas are Mahoenui Valley Rd, Glenmore Rd and Sunnyside Rd, however, there are also some magnificent properties on the Highway and a subdivision in Lloyd Rd that is proving very popular. This development is a waterfront lifestyle subdivision close to the Coatesville/Riverhead Highway, closer to Riverhead than Coatesville, offering buyers another alternative to semi-rural living.