South Cornwall · TR11 · Cornwall Council Central
Durgan extensions — a South Cornwall studio
Extensions are the bread and butter of Cornish homes — adding the kitchen-diner the original layout never had, the bedroom for a growing family, or the light and views the back of the house should always have had. Anchor any Durgan extension in the local fabric and the rest follows — Durgan is a creekside settlement in the TR11 area, with waterside homes, wooded valleys and narrow-lane access shaping the brief, with a building stock that leans toward converted barns and waterside homes.
Durgan sits in South Cornwall — just off the A39; covering TR11 from Mawnan Smith, Mawnan, Truro outward.
- Conservation Area
- Cornwall AONB
- Coastal exposure zone
- ✓Cornwall Council Central sub-area regulars
- ✓Free first site visit, no obligation
- ✓Conservation Area experience built into the fee
- ✓Fixed-fee planning packages, no surprise invoices
Free · No obligation
Free Durgan feasibility call
Tell us about your extension. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Who this is for
In Durgan the extension brief is almost always a private homeowner improving a forever home — so we lead with feasibility and long-term value, not show-home rhetoric.
Local watch-list
The TR11 constraints that shape a extension brief.
Watch #1
Conservation Area controls on materials, window proportions and roof form through central Durgan
Watch #2
AONB landscape-impact testing on anything read in long views across South Cornwall
Watch #3
Exposure detailing on creekside cottages — fixings, render systems and joinery specified for salt-laden air
Watch #4
Party Wall notices and shallow roof voids typical of creekside cottages in the TR11 district
Local proof — Most Durgan extension clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewFAQs
Durgan Extensions — local questions answered.
- Do I need planning permission for an extension?
- Often no — single-storey rear extensions, side extensions and modest two-storey additions can sit inside permitted development on a typical detached house. Conservation Areas, AONB and Article 4 zones remove some of those rights, so we always check the address first. In Durgan specifically, we'd start by checking the Conservation Area boundary before committing to a direction.
- How long does the whole process take?
- Allow roughly three months for design and approvals, then twelve to twenty weeks on site for a typical single-storey extension. Wraparounds and two-storey add-ons take longer, mostly through approval and groundworks.
- We live in the house. Can a extension in Durgan 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 Durgan are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- What about the Party Wall Act?
- If you share a wall with a neighbour or build close to a boundary, the Act applies. We flag it early, recommend a surveyor and keep the programme aligned with the notice period.
- How much does an extension cost in Cornwall?
- Build costs in Cornwall typically run from around £2,200 to £3,200 per square metre for a good-quality single-storey extension, more for kitchen-grade fit-out or complex glazing. We give a realistic budget before drawings start, not after.
- Can you handle the build as well as the design?
- Yes — that's the whole point of the studio. One contract, one point of contact, no finger-pointing between architect and builder when something needs a decision on site.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Durgan 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 Durgan and the TR11 area.
Scope
What we can draw, survey and build around Durgan
These stages can be bought separately. Most TR11 projects use three of them.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Measured survey
An accurate record of what is actually there, which is where most avoidable cost is removed.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Heritage and design statements
Written justification where designation makes the design case as important as the drawing.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Durgan?
Both routes are open on a TR11 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Durgan clients take the drawings, tender them locally, then come back to us for the build if the numbers do not stack up.
- Route one: feasibility, planning and a tender-ready technical pack
- Route two: the same pack, then the build under one contract
- Either way the survey and feasibility work is identical, so the decision can wait
- Fees quoted per stage against the TR11 scope, not as one opaque figure
Keep reading
Follow the chain: survey, drawings, build
Durgan is covered from our Mawnan Smith run. Being a smaller place, the local detail matters more than the headline policy: lane access, neighbour proximity and what the immediate street already looks like.
Who this is for
Why this page exists, and who it is for
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a extension 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.
- Applications for Durgan 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.
Local context
Why Durgan is its own job.
The planning backdrop in South Cornwall is real, not abstract: creekside ecology, flood risk, trees and views across the water often matter as much as the building form itself. For extension specifically, parts of Durgan 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 Durgan drives detailing choices — fixings, render systems and timber treatments all need to be specified for exposure. Treat the TR11 parish brief as the design brief and the Durgan application has somewhere to land. Whether the project is on converted barns in the centre or further out toward Mawnan Smith, the extension response is locally tuned.
Planning note
Most extensions in Cornwall are either permitted development or a straightforward householder application — but Conservation Area and AONB sites need a more careful design conversation upfront.
What we focus on
Extensions considerations specific to Durgan.
01
Permitted development for rear extensions runs to four metres on a detached house, three on a semi or terrace — but Article 4 areas remove this in some parishes.
02
Wind and sea-spray exposure can drive material choices on west-facing extensions; we detail accordingly.
03
Drainage on older Cornish properties is rarely on a clean modern map; CCTV survey before design is often money well spent.
04
Extensions over a certain proportion of the original house trigger full Part L upgrade obligations to the existing building — worth knowing before brief is set.
Our process
How a Durgan extension project runs.
Step 1
Brief
We meet on site, talk through how you live now and what's missing from the current layout.
Step 2
Design
Two or three sketch directions with rough budgets, then refinement of the chosen route.
Step 3
Approvals
Planning or Cert of Lawfulness, then a full building regs package.
Step 4
Build
Either through your own builder with our drawings, or as a full build by our team.
Step 5
Handover
Snag, certify, hand over the keys to your new space.
Typical single-storey rear extensions run twelve to twenty weeks on site; two-storey and wraparound projects sixteen to thirty weeks.
Local fabric
Why a South Cornwall studio is the right fit for Durgan extension.
Building stock
Across Durgan (TR11) we work on creekside cottages, detached houses, boat sheds, converted barns, waterside homes. Each stock type drives a different extension response — converted barns in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Durgan sits in the parish of Durgan, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a extension application.
Coverage
We cover TR11 from our studio, with regular extension jobs also running in Mawnan Smith, Mawnan, Truro. Most Durgan site visits get booked within the same week.
What does a first Durgan consultation cost?
Nothing. We come to the property, walk the site, talk through what works on a TR11 plot and follow up with a written feasibility note inside a week — no obligation either way.
Request a free visitDurgan is part of Mawnan Smith
Durgan sits inside the Mawnan Smith catchment — we cover both as one extension territory.
See Extensions in Mawnan Smith →Other services in Durgan
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against TR11 planning realism, our Durgan extension work threads that needle without the usual drama. Here that means the Conservation Area boundary decides the route before the design does.
Decide the route after the free Durgan visit Booked alongside our Mawnan Smith runs.
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Book a free visit in Durgan
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