Mid Cornwall · PL26 · Cornwall Council Mid
Design, planning and build for Foxhole extension
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. A PL26 site visit comes before a Foxhole sketch, every time — Foxhole is a china-clay village in the PL26 area, with workers housing, industrial landscape and practical family homes forming the local pattern, with a building stock that leans toward bungalows and post-war estates.
Foxhole sits in Mid Cornwall — just off the A390; covering PL26 from St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis outward.
- Rural / open-countryside policy area
- ✓Cornwall Council Mid sub-area regulars
- ✓rural policy area experience built into the fee
- ✓Local to Mid Cornwall — not a national franchise
- ✓Same team on paper as on site
Free · No obligation
Free Foxhole feasibility call
Tell us about your extension. We reply within 1 working day — no obligation.
Local proof — Most Foxhole extension clients we work with are second-time builders — they've seen the templated approach fail once already.
Get a free feasibility viewLocal context
Why Foxhole is its own job.
Cornwall Council's lens on Foxhole is consistent: ground conditions, drainage, former industrial land and simple robust materials tend to shape the design and technical brief. For extension specifically, 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 Foxhole project as a PL26-area job first — not a generic Cornwall job with a postcode bolted on. The bungalows that dominate Foxhole (and continue out toward St Dennis) set the tone for any extension scheme here.
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 Foxhole.
01
Wind and sea-spray exposure can drive material choices on west-facing extensions; we detail accordingly.
02
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.
03
Drainage on older Cornish properties is rarely on a clean modern map; CCTV survey before design is often money well spent.
04
Cornish granite and slate-hung walls react differently to new openings than modern brickwork — lintel choice and structural sequencing matter.
Page purpose
Drawings only, or drawings through to handover in Foxhole?
Both routes are open on a PL26 project, and the honest answer depends on whether you already have a builder you trust. Plenty of Foxhole 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 PL26 scope, not as one opaque figure
Scope
Where our work starts and stops on a PL26 project
Not every project needs every stage. On a Foxhole job we scope to what the site and the consent route actually require.
Construction and technical drawings
1:10 and 1:20 details for the parts of the job builders normally have to guess at.
Structural coordination
Calculations coordinated with the drawings so building control sees one consistent story.
Planning application drawings
Existing and proposed plans, elevations, site and block plans drawn to validation standard.
Full design and build
One contract from first sketch to handover, with the same team on paper and on site.
Building regulation drawings
Full Plans sets with sections, construction notes and coordinated structural information.
Who this is for
Our footing in Mid Cornwall
- Design and build are offered from the same studio, which means the person answering your Foxhole questions has seen the detail built.
- Drawings, planning and building regulations are all produced in-house, so a extension enquiry does not get passed between firms.
- Applications for Foxhole are handled through Cornwall Council, with St Austell 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.
Keep reading
Related PL26 pages
Foxhole is covered from our St Austell 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.
Our process
How a Foxhole 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.
Quick check
Want a straight answer on whether your Foxhole 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.
Free · No obligation
Get a free feasibility view
For projects in Foxhole and the PL26 area.
Local fabric
Why Foxhole homeowners pick a local studio for extension.
Building stock
Across Foxhole (PL26) we work on workers cottages, terraced houses, post-war estates, bungalows, former industrial plots. Each stock type drives a different extension response — bungalows in particular needs careful detailing here.
Parish & policy
Foxhole sits in the parish of Foxhole, which matters for how parish-level consultation lands on a extension application.
Coverage
We cover PL26 from our studio, with regular extension jobs also running in St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. Most Foxhole site visits get booked within the same week.
How quickly can you visit a Foxhole site?
Usually within the same week. Foxhole (PL26) is on our regular Mid Cornwall run, alongside St Austell, Bugle, St Dennis. First visits are free and you'll get an honest feasibility view inside seven days.
Request a free visitFAQs
Foxhole 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 Foxhole specifically, we'd start by checking the latest parish-level planning history before committing to a direction.
- Will my house be liveable during the build?
- For most rear and side extensions, yes — we sequence the works so the kitchen and one bathroom stay functional until the new build is watertight and connected.
- 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.
- 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.
- We live in the house. Can a extension in Foxhole 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 Foxhole are often easier if you move out for a few weeks. We set that expectation at feasibility stage rather than halfway through.
- 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.
Foxhole is part of St Austell
Foxhole sits inside the St Austell catchment — we cover both as one extension territory.
See Extensions in St Austell →Other services in Foxhole
Nearby places we cover
If you're balancing ambition against PL26 planning realism, our Foxhole extension work threads that needle without the usual drama. terraced houses in particular need a tailored structural answer.
Get the PL26 planning view before you draw St Austell handles the planning end for PL26.
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