Mountain views and keen prices

GET thee to a nunnery, wrote William Shakespeare - but get thee to a tannery, suggests Michael Thornton.

He's a new estate agent in Millstreet, whose first significant sale is a bit of a coup the largest-ever scheme planned for the scenic town on the Cork-Kerry border.

The tannery site he has in mind in is Millstreet in north west Cork. Now, it is due a development of 106 houses, its biggest single scheme yet.

And, for those eyeing house prices elsewhere, take note: three-bed homes here can be bought from €175,000 with 1,166 sq ft of space, or from €197,000 for a three-bed with convertible garage, bringing floor areas up to 1,394 sq ft.

They massively under-cut prices in cities and even in towns such as Mallow and Killarney, and so Mr Thornton expects intending buyers to be prepared to commute.

Tanyard Wood, named after the ordnance survey description of the area half a mile from Millstreet on the Mallow side, has views of Clara Mountain and the Kerry hills. The site recalls Millstreet's tanning industry, where tannin was extracted from bark and used to process leather.

Builders are Carraig Beag Developers, opting for timber frame homes in a mix of bungalows, semis and detached houses.

The first phase consists of 27 homes, ranging from 5 three-bedroomed bungalows (sold out at €197,000) through semis at €179,000/€212,000 (with 1,500 sq ft) and four-bed detached houses of 2,800 sq ft at €358,000.

"The bungalows were gone straight away, we could have sold 106 bungalows if we had planning for them," said Mr Thornton of Duhallow Properties, commenting on the demand for the 17 acre development.

Location is within a half hour's drive of Mallow and Killarney.