Lizard Peninsula · TR12 · Cornwall Council West
Planning approved in Mullion, so what happens now?
An approval notice feels like the finish line and is really the starting gun. Before anyone digs in Mullion, three things need dealing with: the conditions attached to the consent, the building regulation package, and the structural design. Conditions in particular catch people out, because some of them are pre-commencement, which means work started before they are discharged is technically unauthorised. Once drawings are approved, the build is the bit that decides whether you get the home you imagined or a frustrating compromise. We deliver projects on a single contract — design, drawings, approvals and construction — so the team that drew it is the team that builds it. Reading Mullion on the ground is half of the full build package job — 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 Edwardian guesthouses and modern AONB-sensitive replacement dwellings.
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
- ✓Decision notice reviewed and conditions listed out
- ✓Pre-commencement items discharged before site starts
- ✓Building regulation and structural package prepared
- ✓Build delivered by the same Lizard Peninsula studio that drew it, if you want it that way
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Free Mullion feasibility call
Tell us about your full build package. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Our process
How a Mullion full build package project runs.
Step 1
Pre-construction
Programme, procurement, contractor briefing and site setup.
Step 2
Substructure
Foundations, drainage, ground beams — the unglamorous bit that decides everything later.
Step 3
Superstructure
Frame, roof, glazing — getting the building watertight.
Step 4
First and second fix
Services, plaster, joinery, kitchens and bathrooms.
Step 5
Snag and handover
Final inspection, building control sign-off, handover pack and aftercare.
Full builds run from twelve weeks for small extensions to eighteen months for new build family homes.
Local proof — Our Lizard Peninsula workload means a Mullion full build package project never has to wait for an out-of-county team to drive down.
Get a free feasibility viewScope
The parts of the job we can take on in Mullion
These stages can be bought separately. Most TR12 projects use three of them.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Heritage and design statements
Written justification where designation makes the design case as important as the drawing.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Who this is for
What we can genuinely back up in Mullion
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Mullion questions has seen the detail built.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a full build package enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Designated-area work is routine here, so heritage and landscape statements are produced alongside the drawings rather than outsourced.
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
Other work we do around Mullion
We cover Mullion and the wider TR12 district directly. Full Build enquiries here are common enough that we know the constraints before the first visit.
Page purpose
How a Mullion build actually runs
This is delivery, not paperwork. The value here is programme, sequencing and a single point of responsibility for a TR12 site. In Mullion that usually means access, storage and neighbour management get planned before the first delivery arrives.
- Site set-up planned around Mullion access, parking and delivery constraints
- One programme covering trades, inspections and building control sign-off
- Materials specified for local exposure, not a generic national spec
- Weekly progress contact so decisions never hold up the programme
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Mullion 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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Get a free feasibility view
For projects in Mullion and the TR12 area.
What we focus on
Full Build considerations specific to Mullion.
01
Single-contract delivery removes the gap between architect's intent and builder's interpretation — fewer change orders, less variation cost.
02
Material lead times to Cornwall are longer than the M5 corridor; sequencing orders early protects the build programme.
03
Weather windows on Cornish coastal sites are short — getting the building watertight before autumn matters more here than in central England.
04
Off-grid sites need their own water, drainage and power solutions designed and procured rather than assumed.
Local context
Why Mullion is its own job.
Around Mullion (TR12), 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 full build package 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. Reading Mullion properly up front saves more time than any drawing tool ever will. Most of our full build package work in Mullion lands on Edwardian guesthouses, with detailing that has to nod to the wider Cury streetscape. 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 full build package submission is not sent back for missing information. Confirm listing status with the local planning authority before assuming permitted development. 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
Build delivery doesn't need planning, but planning conditions often dictate site setup, materials and working hours — we read every condition and build the programme around them.
Local watch-list
The TR12 constraints that shape a full build package brief.
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
Local fabric
Mullion full build — the local-studio difference.
Building stock
Across Mullion (TR12) we work on granite cottages around the church, Edwardian guesthouses, 1960s coastal bungalows, modern AONB-sensitive replacement dwellings. Each stock type drives a different full build package response — Edwardian guesthouses in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Mullion is its own town in Lizard Peninsula, with planning history that's specific to the TR12 catchment.
Coverage
We cover TR12 from our studio, with regular full build package jobs also running in Helston. Most Mullion site visits get booked within the same week.
Do you work in Mullion regularly?
Yes — Mullion and the wider TR12 catchment are core territory. We're typically on a Lizard Peninsula site at least once a week, so logistics are baked in, not bolted on.
Request a free visitWho this is for
In Mullion the full build package brief is almost always a private homeowner improving a forever home — so we lead with feasibility and long-term value, not show-home rhetoric.
FAQs
Mullion Full Build — local questions answered.
- What is a pre-commencement condition?
- A condition that has to be discharged before any work begins, commonly covering materials, drainage strategy, ecology or construction management. Starting work before discharging one can invalidate the permission, so it is worth checking the notice line by line.
- How long does planning permission last?
- Permissions normally carry a time limit within which work must begin, stated on the decision notice itself. Check the wording on yours rather than relying on a general rule.
- Do I need new drawings after approval?
- Yes. The approved drawings show the scheme; the building regulation and construction package shows how it is built. That second set is what the builder and building control work from.
- When should I get prices?
- Once the technical drawings exist. Pricing from planning drawings alone produces quotes that are not comparable, because each builder is filling in the missing detail differently.
- How do you handle changes during the build?
- Weekly client meetings, written change requests, costed and signed before work proceeds. No surprise invoices. In Mullion specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- We live in the house. Can a full build package in Mullion be done while we stay put?
- Usually yes for single-storey and rear work, with a temporary kitchen or bathroom arrangement agreed before the start. Whole-house remodels and roof work in Mullion are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- Are you insured?
- Public liability, employer's liability and contractor's all-risks cover are in place for every project, with certificates available before contract signing.
Other services in Mullion
Nearby places we cover
Read the decision notice properly, discharge anything pre-commencement, get the technical package drawn and only then price the work. Doing those in order is what keeps a Mullion build on programme.
Send us your Mullion approval notice and we will map the next stage
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Book a free visit in Mullion
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