Lizard Peninsula · TR12 · Cornwall Council West
Permitted development in Mullion — what's allowed without planning
Most Mullion homeowners have more PD rights than they realise — but the Conservation Area removes the big ones (rear extensions, side extensions, cladding changes). Below is what's typically allowed on a TR12 property — and what catches people out. We prepare and submit planning applications to Cornwall Council and, where relevant, the Isles of Scilly authority — handling drawings, statements, validation queries and officer negotiation from start to determination. What works on a TR12 plot rarely works elsewhere — Mullion is the largest village on the Lizard Peninsula, AONB-designated, with a fifteenth-century church, a working cove and the highest concentration of period housing on the peninsula, with a building stock that leans toward 1960s coastal bungalows and Edwardian guesthouses.
Mullion sits in Lizard Peninsula — just off the A394; covering TR12 from Mawgan, Ruan Minor, The Lizard outward.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓Rear extension up to 3m (terraced/semi) without planning
- ✓Loft volume up to 40m³ (terrace) under PD
- ✓Outbuildings up to 2.5m eaves height
- ✓Lawful Development Certificate from £100
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Local watch-list
Local snags worth knowing before drawing a Mullion planning application.
Watch #1
Conservation Area controls on materials, window proportions and roof form through central Mullion
Watch #2
AONB landscape-impact testing on anything read in long views across Lizard Peninsula
Watch #3
Exposure detailing on granite cottages around the church — fixings, render systems and joinery specified for salt-laden air
Watch #4
Local Plan tests on isolated dwellings, plus lane access for plant and deliveries around Mullion
Who this is for
In Mullion the planning application brief is almost always a private homeowner improving a forever home — so we lead with feasibility and long-term value, not show-home rhetoric.
Page purpose
What you actually get on a Mullion planning application drawings package
This is a drawings-led service. You are buying a documented, submission-ready set for a TR12 address, not a build contract. For most Mullion 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 TR12 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
Where our work starts and stops on a TR12 project
These stages can be bought separately. Most TR12 projects use three of them.
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.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Who this is for
Our footing in Lizard Peninsula
- Designated-area work is routine here, so heritage and landscape statements are produced alongside the drawings rather than outsourced.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a planning application enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Mullion questions has seen the detail built.
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.
Keep reading
Related TR12 pages
We cover Mullion and the wider TR12 district directly. Planning enquiries here are common enough that we know the constraints before the first visit.
Local context
Why Mullion is its own job.
Cornwall Council's lens on Mullion is consistent: mullion Conservation Area covers the village centre; the wider parish is entirely within the AONB and includes Heritage Coast designation. Cliff-edge and coastal margin sites face the strictest controls in West Cornwall. For planning application specifically, parts of Mullion 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 Mullion drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure; Cornwall Council's Local Plan applies tighter tests to isolated rural dwellings here, so design rationale and policy fit need to be set out clearly from the outset. That's why we treat every Mullion project as a TR12-area job first — not a generic Cornwall job with a postcode bolted on. The 1960s coastal bungalows that dominate Mullion (and continue out toward The Lizard) set the tone for any planning application scheme here. On older stock, the practical constraint is usually joinery, render and roof line rather than the extension itself. We draw those details out early so a planning application submission is not sent back for missing information. Confirm listing status with the local planning authority before assuming permitted development. Salt air and prevailing wind change specification long before they change planning. We tend to draw weathering details in full, then check whether coastal or AONB policy narrows the design options for this address.
Planning note
Cornwall Council's planning team is among the busiest in the South West. A clean, well-documented submission moves through validation faster than a bare-minimum one.
What we focus on
Planning considerations specific to Mullion.
01
Cornwall's Local Plan policies on second homes, holiday lets and principal residence restrictions affect what's likely to gain consent in some parishes.
02
Pre-app responses are not binding but they are a strong steer — and worth the fee on anything contentious.
03
Tree Preservation Orders, ecology surveys and neighbour consultation responses can change the validation list mid-application.
04
Cornwall has more than thirty Conservation Areas and large stretches of AONB; planning weight on materials, mass and form is significantly higher in those zones.
Quick check
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For projects in Mullion and the TR12 area.
Our process
How a Mullion planning application project runs.
Step 1
Initial review
We assess constraints — Conservation Area, AONB, listed status, Article 4, TPOs, flood zone.
Step 2
Strategy
We recommend the right application type and likely fee, programme and supporting documents.
Step 3
Drawing and statement preparation
Plans, elevations, sections, block and location plans, plus DAS and any heritage or ecology input.
Step 4
Submission and validation
We upload to the Planning Portal, pay the council fee on your behalf and respond to validation requests.
Step 5
Determination
We monitor consultation, respond to officer queries and negotiate amendments where it improves the chances of approval.
Householder applications are typically eight to twelve weeks from validation; full planning runs thirteen to sixteen weeks; major or contentious schemes can take longer.
FAQs
Mullion Planning — local questions answered.
- What's permitted development in Mullion?
- Single-storey rear extensions up to 3m (terraced/semi) or 4m (detached), loft conversions up to 40m³ (terrace) or 50m³ (semi/detached), and most outbuildings under 2.5m eaves. Conservation Area removes side extensions, cladding and roof extensions from PD.
- Do I need to apply for anything if it's PD?
- Legally no, but a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) costs about £100 and gives Cornwall Council's confirmation in writing. We strongly recommend it for resale and for any neighbour disputes.
- What removes PD rights in Mullion?
- Conservation Area designation, Article 4 directions, flats and maisonettes, and any deed restriction from a previous planning permission. We check all four before quoting.
- How much does a planning application cost in Mullion?
- Cornwall Council charges a fixed national fee — currently £258 for a householder application and £578 for a single new dwelling. Our fee for the drawings, statements and submission sits separately and depends on project complexity. In Mullion specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- Do you handle listed building consent?
- Yes. Listed Building Consent runs alongside planning where works affect a listed structure, including some interior alterations. The drawing detail and Heritage Statement are fundamentally different from a standard planning pack.
- Can you submit a retrospective application?
- Yes. We regularly handle retrospective applications — sometimes after enforcement contact, sometimes voluntarily before sale. Honesty in the supporting statement is the difference between approval and refusal.
Local proof — We typically have one or two planning application jobs live in the TR12 area at any time, so the local planning officers know our drawings on sight.
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