The Lawn is worth the long wait

Rose Martin is impressed by a new scheme in Castletownshend.

IT’S a good thing, perhaps, that The Lawn in Castletownshend, had such a long gestation period.

The housing scheme was refused planning permission on the first go when the residents of the West Cork village put up a strong resistance.

Home of Somerville and Ross, the cousins who wrote the Irish RM books, Castletownshend has to be one of the most picturesque places in West Cork and its last expansionary period was in 17th and 18th century.

Now, however, the low-density scheme on a seven-acre site will add 43 new houses to the village, but the impact is low. They’re tucked away behind a high stone wall at the entrance point to Castletownshend and are easy on the eye, looks-wise.

In fact, the developers, Fleming Construction worked all the harder on the scheme because of local opposition and drafted in architect Roddy Hogan to create a village-style street escape facing a large, landscaped green - hence the name.

Pastiche perhaps, but the stone and rendered buildings don’t look out of place here and the fact that they’re hidden behind the village in a stand-alone situation means they don’t impinge on it in any way.

Access is from the main road out of town, but there’s a pedestrian walkway to the centre of Castletownshend, which is handy for the odd spot of lunch in Mary Ann’s, a well-known watering hole in West Cork.

Ten of the 43 units planned are now left to sell through joint agents, Pat Maguire of SWS Property Services and Niall Cahalane of Cahalane Skuse and they can offer a showhouse unit for viewers, subject to appointment.

Prices start at €270,000 for the three-bedroomed units on offer and rise to a top price of €500,000 for the all ensuite, five-bedroomed houses, now nearing completion.

Unusually for what could be described as a holiday home scheme, these three-storey houses also have huge gardens running up to the high, old stone wall boundary.

This was built as part of the Castletownshend Castle estate, with the 17th century castle as its centre, but now provides an historic boundary for these stylish homes.

As might be expected, there’s been a strong uptake from Cork city buyers, but there have been some sales to full-time occupants, says Pat Maguire. With some of the houses running to 2,800 square feet, that’s not surprising.

And now that the ditches are aglow with Montbretia and the fields turning golden, it’s worth a spin to West Cork for a look.