Lawns scheme ends uphill planning battle

THE planning battle to develop the Lawns in Castletownshend in West Cork was, appropriately, an uphill one, given the unique hillside character of this time-warped seaside village.

Castletownshend, which gallops down a precipitous, period home-lined hill to the sea, is one of the most picturesque and unspoiled villages on the Irish coastline.

Stone buildings, mullioned windows, the famous ‘Two Trees’ standing in the middle of the road (albeit sycamores re-planted in the 1980s, not the 1800s originals) and the sheer diversity of houses great and little add to its genuine charm.