West Cornwall · TR26 · Cornwall Council West
Measured surveys in St Ives, the drawing everything else is built on
Every application, every quote and every construction detail depends on the existing drawings being right. In St Ives that matters more than in a modern estate, because walls have been rebuilt and rendered over generations and rarely measure what the deeds suggest. A survey records the building as it is, which is the only sound basis for designing anything. A measured survey records the building as it stands, not as the original drawings claimed it would be. Every planning drawing, building regulation package and builder's quote we produce sits on one, because a wall that is 60mm out of square on paper becomes a 60mm problem on site. Anchor any St Ives measured survey in the local fabric and the rest follows — St Ives is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty town with a tightly packed historic harbour, the Tate gallery and some of the steepest streets in Cornwall, with a building stock that leans toward granite terraces and modern hillside homes above the town.
St Ives sits in West Cornwall — just off the A3074; with Truro the closest city; 1 miles from Carbis Bay, 3 miles from Hayle.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- ✓Room by room measurement including wall thicknesses and levels
- ✓Elevations, sections and a site plan with boundaries and drainage
- ✓Scaled PDF and CAD files issued to you
- ✓St Ives and the wider TR26 area covered from our Cornwall studio
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Page purpose
What you actually get on a St Ives measured survey drawings package
This is a drawings-led service. You are buying a documented, submission-ready set for a TR26 address, not a build contract. For most St Ives householders that means a measured survey, an honest feasibility view, then the drawings the council and your builder both need.
- Measured survey and existing drawings before any proposal is drawn
- A written planning route for the TR26 address, including whether permitted development is realistically available
- Proposed plans, elevations and site plan at the scales the authority expects
- Submission and validation handling, plus responses to officer queries
Scope
What we can draw, survey and build around St Ives
Not every project needs every stage. On a St Ives job we scope to what the site and the consent route actually require.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
Heritage and design statements
Written justification where designation makes the design case as important as the drawing.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Local watch-list
St Ives-specific issues we screen on the first visit.
Watch #1
Principal Residence policy ruling out new dwellings sold as second homes
Watch #2
Granite-walled cottages where loft conversion headroom is borderline
Watch #3
Stepped access on Downalong streets limiting plant and crane reach
Watch #4
Slate roof pitches that complicate dormer geometry
Who this is for
Why this page exists, and who it is for
- Designated-area work is routine here, so heritage and landscape statements are produced alongside the drawings rather than outsourced.
- Sites we know on the ground here include the area around Downalong and Porthmeor Beach.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a measured survey enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Applications for St Ives are handled through Cornwall Council, with Truro the nearest planning office we deal with regularly.
Planning rules change and every site is different. For the final position on your address, check with Cornwall Council as the local planning authority or the Planning Portal.
What we focus on
Measured Surveys considerations specific to St Ives.
01
Roof pitches on slate roofs vary along the length of the run, and a survey that misses that produces a dormer or rooflight detail that will not sit flush.
02
Cornish stone and cob walls are rarely parallel and often vary in thickness between floors, so wall build-ups have to be measured room by room rather than assumed.
03
Where a neighbouring property is attached, a party wall line has to be recorded accurately before any structural design begins.
04
Floor levels in older cottages frequently step between rooms, which changes the whole approach to a level access threshold or a new opening.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your St Ives project is worth pursuing?
Send a few details — we'll come back within 1 working day with a plain-English view on planning risk, likely cost band and whether it's a project we'd take on.
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For projects in St Ives and the TR26 area.
Local context
Why St Ives is its own job.
Locally, st Ives operates a Neighbourhood Plan with a principal residence policy on most new dwellings — second homes and holiday lets face strong policy resistance. The Conservation Area covers Downalong, the harbour and most of the town centre, where granite, slate and lime-render detailing is non-negotiable. For measured survey specifically, parts of St Ives sit within a designated Conservation Area, which means materials, fenestration and roof pitches all need to read sympathetically with the existing streetscape; the surrounding landscape falls inside the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so massing, height and landscape impact carry extra weight in any planning decision; coastal salt-laden air around St Ives drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure. Which is why we scope St Ives projects parish-up, not template-down — the TR26 context shapes the design from day one. Whether the project is on granite terraces in the centre or further out toward Lelant, the measured survey response is locally tuned. Historic fabric changes the sequence: survey first, then design around what the building can take. Consent routes for listed buildings sit separately from ordinary planning, so treat any general guidance here as a starting point and check with Cornwall Council. Exposure is the real design driver near the water: wind-driven rain, salt and driving damp push detailing towards better weathering, sheltered openings and robust fixings. Where an AONB or coastal policy applies, visual impact usually carries more weight than size.
Planning note
Cornwall Council will not validate an application without accurate existing plans and elevations, so the survey is the first thing that gets done, not an optional extra.
Recent work nearby
Carbis Bay clifftop rebuild we ran last year leaned on a granite plinth + standing-seam zinc roof.
See more recent West Cornwall work →Our process
How a St Ives measured survey project runs.
Step 1
Address and scope
You send the address and rough size, we confirm a fixed fee and a date.
Step 2
Site visit
Room by room measurement, elevations, levels, photographs and drainage.
Step 3
Drawing up
The measurements are drawn as existing plans, elevations and sections at scale.
Step 4
Issue and check
You receive PDF and CAD files, and we walk through anything unusual we found.
Step 5
Design or handover
The survey becomes the base drawing for design, or it is yours to take elsewhere.
Surveys range from a single room reconfiguration to a full farmstead with several outbuildings recorded in one visit.
FAQs
St Ives Measured Surveys — local questions answered.
- What is a measured survey?
- An accurate dimensional record of an existing building, drawn to scale as plans, elevations and sections. It captures wall thicknesses, floor levels, openings and the site around the building.
- How much does a measured survey cost in St Ives?
- It depends on the size of the property, the number of storeys and how irregular the fabric is. We quote a fixed figure once we know the address and rough floor area, and where the survey runs into a full design commission it is usually folded into the package.
- Can I use the survey elsewhere?
- Yes. You receive scaled PDFs and CAD files, and they are yours whether or not we go on to do the design work.
- What do you need access to?
- Every room, plus the loft, any cellar and any outbuilding involved in the proposal. Anything not accessible has to be recorded on the drawing as an assumption, and assumptions are what cause variations later.
- Can I use your survey with another designer or builder?
- Yes. The survey is issued to you as scaled PDF and CAD files and it is yours to use, whether we go on to do the design or not. In St Ives specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- How much does a measured survey cost?
- It depends on floor area, the number of storeys and how irregular the building is. A standard three bedroom house is a straightforward half day on site; a rambling farmhouse with outbuildings takes considerably longer. We quote a fixed figure once we know the address and rough size, and where the survey leads into a full design commission it is usually folded into the package fee.
- Do you need access to every room?
- Yes, including lofts, cellars and any outbuilding that touches the proposal. Anything we cannot access has to be noted as an assumption on the drawing, and assumptions are what cause variations later.
St Ives is the hub for these neighbourhoods
We run measured surveys across St Ives and the surrounding TR26 neighbourhoods — same studio, same site team.
- Carbis Bay
TR26
Keep reading
Follow the chain: survey, drawings, build
St Ives works as a hub for us: the same measured survey team covers Carbis Bay and the surrounding TR26 villages, so a site visit here often takes in more than one address.
Other services in St Ives
Nearby places we cover
Local neighbourhoods in St Ives
If you take one thing from this page: in St Ives do not let anyone design from an old estate agent floor plan. It is the cheapest possible saving and the most expensive one to unpick on site.
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